Quite The Predicament
by BleedingHeartsoftheWorldUnite
Summary: After being banished, Loki comes to care for a mortal who had shown him great kindness, but when said mortal dies, he must face his greatest challenge yet! Will he rise to the occasion, or will his rage undo what good had been unlocked inside of him? AU.
1. Banished!

"What have you done?" Odin Borson, King of Asgard, demanded, horror-struck by his son's actions.

At the snow-capped God's feet was the gigantic silhouette of his rival monarch, Laufey. Lifeless form sprawled across the wintery landscape that was the barren remains of the once glorious Jotunheim, blood the color of the setting sun ran down the neat seam in his neck. Orange eyes staring out in disbelief, the light had gone from them, leaving nothing but a look of surprise and betrayal. Bare, decrepit pillars glared down at the scene, looming behind the murderer in judgement. The old king looked between the slain body and his child, unable to fathom how this had happened. Nay, the how was unimportant - what mattered was that it had happened.

If only he had told him the truth, then this might never have happened...

The son of Odin gazed at the deceased, uncaring and even a bit proud of himself for the feat. Yet he was confused - shouldn't his father have been pleased by his achievement? But no, he was not Thor, and Loki knew that Odin only had room in his heart for the eldest born. Burning with rage now, the God of Mischief was positively livid that his father had not acknowledged his accomplishment with praise and kind words.

For a moment that seemed to span eons, frozen ice crystals fell from the silver sky, fluttering soundlessly between the two. Then, temper past a boiling inferno, Loki spoke, "Father, is it not enough that I have brought peace to our people with this monster's death?"

"Peace?" Odin's voice was low, barely a hiss, and at the same time, it boomed throughout his son's head and pierced the tranquil gray sky, "What peace can be brought from bloodshed?"

"Bloodshed?" The brunette looked curiously at his father, not understanding what he possibly meant by that. The Frost Giants had been brutal savages that wrought nothing but havoc for the mighty Asgardians, and as such, the silver-tongue was repaying them. Going to the body, he closed Laufey's eyes as a sign of respect to appease Odin, "There father, will that slate your - "

But he didn't get a chance to finish what he was saying. The minute his hand had touched the fallen king, his skin began to burn as if he had placed it directly in a godly flame, and the flesh began to change color! Crawling up his arm, he found that his entire body was becoming blue, but the second that he had removed his hand from the corpse, everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened to begin with.

Frightened more than he had ever been in his entire life, he looked to his father with wide green eyes, sure that the all-knowing Odin would have an explanation for what had just transpired, "Am I cursed?"

Heaving a deep sigh worthy of a man of his great stature, Odin shook his head, remorseful for an action that he had taken years ago, "There is something that you should know, my son. In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple and I found a baby in the arms of a dead Asgardian. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."

Explaining why he had appeared as a normal Asgardian and never once showed any physical traits of the Frost Giants, Loki could not absorb his father's words quite yet, "Laufey's son. Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?"

Though the tears were not yet visible, he had started to cry. Crushed by his son's reaction, Odin offered him the same reason he had used the day he took Loki in, "You were an innocent child. Before reaching the temple, I had done battle with your father, and never have I encountered such a valiant warrior."

Tears now visibly gleaming on his pale face, Loki was consumed with the desire to understand, "No. You took me for a purpose. What was it?" The God screamed in agony at a man unable to answer his simple question, "Tell me!"

"If your parents had been able to maintain a peaceful coexistence, I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace. Through you." The king was beyond distraught by the turn these events had taken, but even for a god, it was too late now to mend things.

Falling between a fissure of depression and wrath, Loki was currently behind reaching, "So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up until you might have use of me?"

Though it had always been a skill of his, Odin felt another jab at his heart from his child's words, "Why do you twist my words?"

Voice rising steadily to a shout, Loki took a swaggering step closer to the man he had once called father, emotions raging between fury and heartache, "You could have told me what I was from the beginning, why didn't you? Because I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night? You know, it all makes sense now!Why you favored Thor all these years! Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"

Weak at heart over this exchange, Odin was near tears himself by this point, "You're my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth."

Falling to his knees, Loki glared between the body of his biological father and the man that he pretended to care for him his entire life. As he had previously stated, it all did make sense now - the real cause behind Odin's nepotism. Thor had not simply been the oldest as his supposed mother, Frigga, had tried to reassure him: He had been adopted. Taken in as some prize, some sort of sick form of mercy. They all probably knew too; Thor, Sif, the Warriors Three, and even the common folk of Asgard. They had all hated him, but being the king's son, they had put up with him to the bare minimum - but no longer!

Steadily approaching his son with his arm outstretched, Loki suddenly vanished from sight, his visage hazing out in a scatter of acid green. Fed up with all of the lies, of the whispers behind his back, and of Thor's special treatment, the jaded god stood behind his father, blade at his throat. Expecting such a cowardly technique from the master magician, Odin grabbed the hand that held the blade and disarmed his son.

The sky grew darker, and Odin pointed his staff at his youngest son, "Loki Odinson, by your cowardly attempt on the King of Asgard's life, and for the slaying of your ally and kin, the King of the Frost Giants, you've opened these peaceful realms to the horror and desolation of war! You are unworthy of these realms!" Odin ripped the braces from his son's arms, "You're unworthy of your title!" He continued to remove the armor off of Loki, "You're unworthy," Odin paused, clearly destroyed over his boy's fate, "of those who love you. I now take from you your power! In the name of my father and his father before, I, Odin Borson, cast you out!"

Giving his 'father' a look that screamed he would return for vengeance, Loki was powerless against the rainbow-white ray that tore him from where he stood. Undoubtedly, Heimdall would have been aware of the matter, and therefore, would have sent the newly mortalized traitor to his prison. Having bore witness to the humiliation he had suffered, and for being the one who cast him out of Jotunheim and Asgard, Loki swore that Heimdall would also taste his brand of revenge when the time came.

* * *

><p>Ok, beyond the movie, I know absolutely nothing of Thor, or Norse mythology for that matter, so, I have done some serious research the past week or so, mostly pertaining to the Marvel hero (which legally is not mine). Sadly, no matter how much research I do, my knowledge will still be limited, yet, as my movie knowledge is so vast, I have came to a compromise! This story will take place in an alternate universe so that I may tweak, draw inspiration from, and recreate events as I see fit. For those of you who may be purists, I will try my hardest to keep the characters as accurate as possible, and if I stray or there is a certain event you would like to see, I want you to tell me so that I may consider it. Sadly, my lack of experience spans far beyond the Thor universe, but in my defense, I know a fair bit about the X-men. So, fair warning, you'll probably be seeing a huge amount of X-men characters in ratio to others, such as characters for Daredevil or the Incredible Hulk.<p>

I hope that's all that I have to say right now... Curse my lousy memory!


	2. Tending To A God

Opening his glittering green eyes deftly, Loki was filled with the sense that he was being watched. As if moving only to prove his point, the shape of a woman roamed into his line of sight, obscuring the miserable little room behind her. A teapot was on the oven, a low flame heating the water, the cabinets were all closed, though one of the doors had been removed to make room for a second mini refrigerator, and the dishes were drying in a gray rack on the cramped counter. Books, mostly on myth and ancient theology, were stuffed on to every last available surface, and a student I.D. card was precariously left on top of the topmost book, though he couldn't make out the name from the angle he was laying at.

A florescent light loomed just behind her head, casting an argent halo behind her flaming red hair, and for the briefest of moments, Loki thought he might have been in his own bed, back in Asgard. Bending in closer to check his temperature with the back of her hand, he noticed a slight scar above her left brow, but no goddess he would keep company with would be so marred, so the illusion had been broken, and he realized that this homely female must have found him and brought him to her meager chambers.

Trying to get up, he felt a rushing throb in his abdomen, and his hand shot automatically to clench at his stomach. Apparently, this insignificant ant had removed his armor and had bandaged him up herself with moderate skill, though a gleam at the foot of the bed caught his eye, and he saw that she had folded up his belongings. The woman dared to touch him, nay, she completely overstepped her place and pushed him back on the bed with surprising force. No mortal should have been able to stay him so easily, not if he still had even a trace of his powers, but it would appear as if Odin had been through enough to remove even the most basic of his Asgardian traits, such as his increased durability and density.

"You shouldn't get up yet. That fall really did a number on you...?" She was unsure what to call the stranger, so she waited for him to fill in the blank. Hopefully the stranger would be able to speak properly and remember who he was.

Ignoring her, he demanded to know where he was, "What realm is this?"

"Realm?" The woman was caught off guard by the question, but almost instantly she broke into a wide grin, "We call it earth. You're not from around here, are you?" Her smile faltered, "Um, what is your name?"

"I have been known by many names through the ages, but a lowly Midgardian such as yourself might know me best as Loki, God of Mischief - "

She tried to politely stifle a laugh, but had failed miserably and ended up snorting instead, "Loki? As in the famous Norse God? No, you must be mistaken, because the last time I checked, gods and goddesses don't get injured by something as simple as a fall."

She had not meant to be cruel, but her words had struck a terrible chord with the banished god. Had he even an ounce of his power, he would have smote the woman where she stood for her insolence, but as it were, he could do nothing but take her harsh words. For now.

Sensing that she had upset the man, she quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you! It's just that, I've read so much about the gods, I have never before encountered tell of an injured one."

Aware that the Midgardians didn't believe in polytheism anymore, Loki had to wonder if maybe the woman was crazy. As fact would have it, she was quite sane - she just loved the idea of myth coming to life, and as such, would willingly buy almost any story with the least amount of proof, "You believe that I am the God of Mischief?"

"Why wouldn't I? I was there when the flash of light lit the sky, and I saw you fall. You're pretty lucky that I did too, or you might not have made it through the last few nights." She was not a strong woman, nor did she have the wealth to spend on saving every victim of circumstance she encountered, but her heart was large enough for her to try, "If you say that you're Loki, then you must be. Unless you happened to fall in some sort of freak skydiving accident and have become delusional, I have no reason to doubt you. Or unless you're trying to pull some sort of con? Well, I'm not rich, so you'll just have to pack the act up and move along once you've healed up a bit, ok?"

"You would dare to imprison the son of," He trailed off uncertainly, bitter towards both of the men he knew as father, but he hid the pause with an extra dose of malice, "a mighty king in a pigpen such as this!"

"That's not very nice. Were you in better health, I might have slapped you for that, god or no." She would have too. Her father had raised her better than to allow anyone to insult her and make her feel as if she weren't special.

Grimacing around at her humble quarters, Loki saw that he would in fact be stuck with the woman until his mortal form had gathered enough strength to leave the property, whenever that would be, "Human, tell me, what is your name?"

She smacked herself gently in the head for forgetting, "Introduction! Sorry, Loki, for my lack of manners. I'm Lucetta Mannford, but everyone calls me Luca. Heh, Loki, Luca. Our names are rather similar, aren't they?"

Seeming to be easily distracted, Luca turned back to the teapot as it began to steam, turning the oven off and dipping a rag in the water. She rummaged around in the drawers for a clean roll of bandages, and she set them down beside the bed, "Sorry I couldn't take you to the hospital, but without any form of identification, they would have turned you down anyways. But I'm not such a terrible nurse!"

That was somehow not very reassuring to the former god, but he remained silent, allowing her to help him into a sitting position, "How long should this form take to mend?"

She shrugged, unraveling the bandages around his upper body. For such a slight fellow, he was surprisingly ripped. Even now, Luca couldn't keep from getting ideas of a less than saint-like origin as she worked - but she would never act on those impulses, as she was unfortunately raised to be a good girl. Lamenting that loss, she grabbed the cloth from the water and wrung it out, softly dabbing it against the battered flesh of the injured man. He grunted lightly against the unaccustomed pain, but otherwise Loki kept a straight face as she worked.

Luca found it quite odd to be cleaning his wounds now that he was awake, even though he still might as well have asleep for all the company he was. Drying him off with a second washcloth, she bandaged him, and he had to admit to himself that she was a better medic than she had led him to believe. Lucetta Mannford was an average woman in every visible way, though maybe, just maybe, Loki could make use of her - every god needed a servant.

* * *

><p>So, yay, this already had way more readers than I had expected for such a shockingly bare area (only forty-some fics). Um, I don't really have a lot to say for this, except maybe to remind the readers to leave some feedback.<p> 


	3. Dinner Disaster!

Things had not really improved much since Loki had woken up in Lucetta Mannford's dingy trailer, but they had at least formed a bearable living arrangement. Luca would cook every meal, clean every dish and cloth, and would still find the time to study, while Loki would gripe about the food, scoff at the job she did, often criticizing her cleaning to the point where he even questioned her gender, and would complain about every little thing he could. But between all of the scrabbles, they would find one or two things to be admired in the other, such as her knowledge of his world, which was surprisingly good for a Midgardian, and his vast wealth of information on a number of subjects, including the subtle art that was manipulating the truth, which she viewed as mere acting - an ambition of hers.

It was one of their first few dinners together, and one of Loki's first as a mortal, and as such, Lucetta had gone all out to prepare a mini-feast for the two of them, even going as far as to catch some wild chicken and roast it outside on a makeshift spit. Taking a longer span of time to cook than she originally guessed, it was already dark by the time that dinner was done. That certainly wasn't the best way to begin things, but it definitely wasn't the last thing to go wrong that night.

Finally prepared, Luca regretfully realized that her home was too crowded for them to face each other while they ate, so preparing two separate meals, she served her guest the first portion on a tray, taking the second at a rickety card table. Glancing around the wall to the best of her ability, she struggled to make conversation, but he would have no part in it. Then, at last, once the meal was done and she had started the dishes, Loki spoke to her for the first time.

Having nothing better to do, he watched her work, growing ever more bored and irritated by his position, "Cooking certainly isn't your strong point, is it? Even the youngest Asgardian girl could prepare a feast befitting the sons of Odin."

She twisted her head around as far as it could go, not stopping in her task, "That may be, but this place is not some palace where deities wait hand and foot on the order of their monarchs. This is the real world."

Ignoring her, he saw that she had not yet cleaned a speck off of the plate she was cleaning, so he decided to take issue with that as well, "It is abundantly clear why you remain unwed, if your home keeping is any indication."

"Are you insinuating that it is my place to cater to some man?" She huffily dropped the dish back into the sink, fully glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"You are not nearly as beautiful as the goddess Sif - nor half as resourceful - but you two are horribly akin in your ideals of a woman's proper place." Loki thought of Sif, well are that were he not the son of Odin, she would have tried to do him away eons ago.

Trying desperately to maintain her composure, Luca took two deep breaths, "A woman's proper place, sir, is exactly where ever she wants it to be."

"And where is your place?" He was impressed by the way she had handled her anger, and was even in slight agreement with her words themselves. There was a slight stirring inside at her defiance, as no woman had ever spoken to him that way before.

She was totally infuriated with him, but not in a completely bad way...

Sitting at the foldout table she used to do her homework, a red volume containing a number of clippings that she discovered had been Loki's handiwork open over a majority of the space, Luca thumbed over the glossy pages, finding that she had no interest in reading at the moment - a miracle in and of itself. Loki was flickering through a book he had found while she had been attending class one day, which to his amazement was a photo album belonging to Luca. The foremost picture was of a man with the same red hair and brown eyes, holding the waist of a slender brunette, two small children holding hands with each other, a hand on each shoulder. It could not have been any more obvious that they were family.

The boy and woman had been included in many of the pictures up until the time Luca appeared to be around the tender age of ten, then suddenly, it was just her and the man. An article had been included in the back, the newspaper still crisp and new even though the paper had been published a few years prior. It was a snippet from the Daily Bugle, written by an old Mannford family friend, Richard Parker.

"**Community Mourns The Death of Famed Fantasy Author Stone G. Creeson**, known better to his friends and family as Bert Mannford, 52. Mannford had been shot early Sunday morning after a disappointed fan read his latest work, and after emergency surgery, died in the hospital surrounded by family and friends. If you remember, this is not the first tragedy to befall the Mannford family - Eleven years ago, Bert's only son Bill Mannford, 14 at the time, had been run down by a drunk driver, and only a few short months after that, his loving wife, librarian Monet Mannford, then 38, committed suicide. After moving away to Arizona with his daughter, Lucetta, now 21, Bert returned to New York with a new book that had bought little Lucetta a bid in NYU, where she is due to start classes next month. Bert Mannford will be missed."

So he hadn't been the only one who had been drenched in a life of misery - Luca had known her fair share of agony as well. Felling something relatively close to the emotion of pity, Laufey's son still thought that they could never truly understand each other, but he did have not only the sense that they had come closer, but that he owed her a little more respect. After all, she had put a great deal of effort into showing him every available courtesy.

* * *

><p>I know, their relationship may seem a bit fast, but trust me, all that matters is the bare minimum as far as this part goes. Crap, I hope that didn't give too much away... Meh, I guess that shouldn't come as much of a surprise! Something happens between Loki and Luca, but after reading the summary, that should make sense. And it being a romance probably was another giveaway. Yes, I like to ... see myself write...? Some kind of equivalent to liking to hear myself talk (though ironically I'm not much of a talker)!<p> 


	4. Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!

After stumbling across her photo album and the obituary contained inside of it, Loki had gone so far as to be a little less cruel to his host. He still insulted her, but every now and again, he would give her a back-handed compliment. She was none the wiser as to why he was being a bit nicer, but she did notice the subtle change in his words and actions. She viewed it as a welcome change, but a part of her wondered if the effort was being overly forced. So, being a rather inquisitive being, she decided to ask him.

Luca wiped the sweat off of her brow, finished with the rigorous task of cleaning to Loki's standards, or trying to get as close to them as she could so he would have less to criticize later, "So you still haven't told me, why have you been being so nice to me? And don't try to bother lying to me! I'm smarter than you give me credit for."

Regretfully, he had to agree with that much, not that he would willingly tell her that. This mortal was not vain, but she was certainly full of herself in his opinion, and she could stand to be knocked down a couple of pegs, "Why do people always presume I'm lying?"

She rolled her small chocolate eyes, pointing at him with her wrist up, exposing a tattoo of a blue rose that was otherwise hidden underneath one of her long-sleeved shirts, "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they know you're the God of Mischief? Just a thought."

"Lucetta Mannford, you have a rather irritating way of pointing out the obvious. Being in your presence reminds me of my brother," He did miss Thor, even now, even after everything that has happened.

She was unsure of how to take that, though she doubted that it was good thing considering that he never spoke of his family. Then again, she never spoke of her family either. Clasping the silver cross at her neck, the heirloom that was more precious to her than anything else, she opened up to her guest, "I had a brother as well, but... he died. All of my family is dead now, so its just me in this world. It kinda always has been, in a way."

Verging dangerously close to sympathy, though nowhere close to crossing that finely drawn line, he frowned stoically, "I know."

Not even considering that he had found the long-forgotten album, she assumed he knew becuase of his powers, waned as they currently were, "So, that's why you... Thank you, Loki. Not too many people would have let it be. I've had more than enough fake sympathy in my life to last me."

"You're seriously not mad that I went through your personal belongings?" He stared at her in disbelief, knowing how guarded and secretive she could be at times. She could rival him in terms of secrecy, or so some outsiders might think.

Her jaw dropped then locked so fast, he wondered if it had even fallen at all, "You what? I trusted you! How? How could you? !"

"You knew who I was when we met. You should have known that it is in my nature to lie. Or did you somehow think that you were exempt from my powers? Such as they are." He actually had not been trying to snoop, only kill boredom while he was alone. But she had no right to shout at a God!

Why then did he feel a twinge of remorse for his behavior? Was it that in the weeks he had been stuck with Luca, he had grown to become less resentful of her? That maybe he would consider her a friend? Dismissing it as impossible, the former god reminded himself that there was no place for mortals or friends in his plans, let alone a woman of both qualities. Lucetta Mannford was just a being whom had happened to show him a little bit of kindness, and all that she would get in return is that he would spare her life.

"I think you should leave when you're well enough," She sounded far colder than he had ever heard her before, and it was obvious that she would not change her mind about this anytime soon, though it was also apparent that she would not abandon him in his current state, "And I think that it's best if we don't go looking for each other after this... At least for a time."

"You'll still give me leeway? You truly are a confounding creature." He muttered to himself, not particularly in the mood to test her at the moment.

She appeared to have heard him anyways, but in the interest of not turning out a soul in need, she chose to ignore his words. She had truly grown to care for her ward, in more ways than any professional should - good thing she wasn't a professional, huh? Loki could get under her skin at the best of times, but she did thoroughly enjoy his company, not to mention the fact that there was something so tragically heroic about him, she couldn't help to find herself drawn to him. Loki was... Well, she actually couldn't place what to call him, becuase he really wasn't the friend sort, and they really knew nothing about the other, and their feelings weren't exactly what one might call romantic, so it left an odd predicament.

What were they to each other, exactly?

Sadly, Luca would never have the answer to that riddle. The minute Loki was able to walk freely without any troubles, he left. Watching him go, she stood there feeling like an idiot for not apologizing to him for her outburst. Luca had thought that he might have known that her temper had cooled, but something prevented her from telling him that outright in her own words. Something inside of her prevented her from even saying goodbye to him - even after he had put a good ten minutes between the two of them. It just felt wrong to say the words... It felt too final.

One week had passed since then, and Luca had secretly been hoping that Loki would come back to her, either as a visitor or, and this came from a darker side of her heart, that he would require her assistance again and would come crawling back to her able hands. Whatever shape he was in, she just wanted to see him again.

"Chicky, chicky, chicky!" A hoodlum whistled at her as she walked down the street from the corner deli. He had on a hood so that she couldn't clearly make out his face, which would make it harder for her to identify him if the police had to get involved. She sincerely hoped not, but she had been raised to go to the police in the face of danger.

Hurrying up, plastic bag jangling from her wrist, she walked down the street, almost running into an elderly man as she checked her shoulder for signs of the man at the deli, "Sorry, sir - "

She grimaced when she realized that the guy from the deli was standing behind the old man. Whoever they were, they seemed to be close, maybe even members of the same gang. Running into the ally, she realized that she had run right into a dead end, so she screamed, begging anyone for help, "AAAAAHHHH! Someone, HELPPPPPP!"

* * *

><p>Ba-na-na-na! (dramatic music, not the fruit!) I just wanted to thank the readers again for reading, and to specifically thank JannaKalderash for being interested enough in this fic to get alerts for it! I might not thank my alerters, but I do care about them too! And yes, I'm leaving this chapter hanging like that! I can be a bit evil at times, and this just so happens to be one of them! Mawhaha! Yeah, I think that's about it. For this chapter anyway.<p> 


	5. Enter The Widow

Unable to scrape by the norms of human society, Loki struggled to fit in with the lesser Midgardians. He was more than wise enough to provide for himself, but his short-sightedness kept him at odds with the miserable vermin he was forced to call co-workers, and he was certainly clever enough to strike quite the property deal, but his life as a pampered prince prevented him from slumming it with the commoners - in so many words he had found his place, but his horrendous attitude had kept him from socializing.

He found his thoughts occasionally drifting to Lucetta, but the way they had parted left a bad taste in his mouth, and he refused to be the first to break the wall between them. But maybe seeing her would prompt a change in the status of their relationship? Yes, bumping into her would make her see the error of her ways, and then she would make amends, and all would be right between them again.

One night, well passed midnight, he had ventured from work to the deli around the corner for a bite to eat. Working late had been a habit of his, as was going to that particular deli. Getting his food and about to return home, Loki happened to overhear a woman screaming in the distance- a woman who sounded eerily like Lucetta. Following the scream was a single, muffled blast of gunfire. Had the scream not made him think of Lucetta, he would have ignored the incident and went along on his way, but as fate would have it, he was reminded of Luca and his earthly body launched into automatic panic mode. Running off to see what the matter was, he turned down a dead end, finding it too dark to make out anything from the street. Entering the ally, two thugs exited, barging their way passed him.

"Loki...?" Luca was holding her stomach where the thugs had shot her, all of her belongs gone, including the necklace her mother had received from her great-grandmother. He was no doctor, but he could tell that she was fading fast.

Kneeling beside her, he was at a loss for what to do for her, so he held her in his arms as he watched her wither away, "Shh. You shouldn't waste your breath."

Luca was no fool; she had been surrounded by death ever since she was a little girl. Shaking her head, she forced a smile, panting heavily between breaths, "I wanted to... apologize, for... not... saying goodbye. Loki... I'm glad... that I... got... to see... you... one... last... time."

"Don't apologize to me! 'Tis I would should be apologizing to you," Magnificent green eyes shining with sorrow, he shook his head, brown locks falling from place, "You were the first person I could ever call a true friend."

She smiled at him, her eyes seeming to say that she thought of him as the same way, but her voice was too weak to say the words, so all she could get out was a short, tight laugh, "Heh."

And she died, laughing in his arms, her eyes rolling back into her head. Luca, sweet, kind Luca, was nothing more than a mere memory now. The only consolation in her death was that she had died genuinely happy, with a smile on her proud face. Looking at her faded visage in horror, he wept openly as his rage built, boiled, and burst. How, how could this have happened to her? She had been the single most saint-like personage he had ever encountered, taking him in when he had nothing, and putting up with his snide insults with nothing gain. Lucetta Mannford had been a truly admirable sort, for a mortal...

She had been someone he had grown to care for, and now that she was gone... it felt as if something had died inside of him. Loki, poor Loki, who had suffered from a life of resentment and hatred, had began to glean a small portion of feeling, a hint of light in the darkness, but with the passing of a mere mortal, he felt the ray of goodness inside snuff itself out, an extra thick chunk of blackness fastening itself on the cocoon of hope, blotting it from existence.

Past the point of desperation, Loki cried out, sending forth an ephemeral bubble of energy. Not nearly back at his former glory, the lord of mayhem came to the realization - hours later - that Lucetta's death had somehow revived the most basic of his powers. Not understanding it, the real reason he got them back was becuase he had shown growth towards redemption.

Empty, he mourned the loss of his friend.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the grimy underbelly that was the slums of New York City, an attractive redhead was getting into a sleek limousine. The woman, Natalia Romanova, or Black Widow as she was professionally known, was wearing her usual skin-tight black leather suit, ready to work. Sliding into the backseat, she was unsurprised to see her cyloptic boss, Nick Fury, waiting for her.

"I gather you've heard that Von Doom is defecting to our side." It couldn't have been anymore obvious that he doubted the sincerity of claim any more than he believed that he still had both eyes.

She had heard the rumors, but she had taken them to be nothing more than gossip. Narrowing her deep blue eyes and flipping her auburn curls over her shoulder, Natalia was even more skeptical than Fury, "So it's true?"

"Truth is a matter of prospective," Fury slipped her a file containing top secret documents on none other than Victor Von Doom, speaking as she thumbed through it, "We find it in our best interest to gain his trust."

Disappointed to find that this mission wasn't going to be any different than a majority of her others, she accepted the bothersome errand regardless, "Consider it done."

So, she had to seduce Von Doom, get close enough to him to learn his true objectives, and then take him out before he could carry out whatever maniacal plot he was planning. She really wished that the higher ups would give her more of a challenge! She didn't blame them for their treatment of her at first - any smart operative would question a foreign-born agent with shaky allegiances at best - but by now, they should have trusted her enough to give her more difficult assignments. Keeping her head up, she knew that sooner or later, her time would come...

It was the late 80's, and everywhere you looked, crime ran rampant. Sure, every now and again you came across a hero, but this was an age before many of the greats came into their own...

* * *

><p>The last part was just to clarify the timeline, not that the decade matters much in the scheme of things. The important thing is that you understand that most of the heroes, and villains, haven't yet appeared in the world, at least, not in this universe... Hem, and as for Lucetta's death... well, all I can say is that I've lived a <em>VERY<em> sheltered life, and the few times that I have experienced death personally, it was with people I barely knew. Considering, I think that I did a fair job of the scene! Black Widow will play a huge roll in upcoming chapters, and to add one thing, as far as her hair goes, she's going to have the same hair as in Iron Man 2, becuase I totally love her hair in that movie! Oh, and for the sake of this story, her real name is Natalia Romanova, but I may or may not switch it around and use some codenames for her.


	6. Young Von Doom

Beginning in the mid-seventies, the government, particularly the U.S. government, had began a program to track down and locate all super-powered entities on the planet. Employing a group of clairvoyants, led by the mysterious Madame Webb, the United States began scouring the future for potential threats to security, compiling a list of every super that the clairvoyants found. Even though the project was closed less than five years ago due to insufficient funds, many would pay dearly for a list like that...

But then again, the government wasn't the only ones with information like that. Though nothing more than pure speculation, certain parties had it in their mind that Charles Xavier, the founder of an ultimately failed group of gifted youngsters - a precursor to the X-men - had a list even better than the one provided by Madame Webb. Enter young Victor, an ambitious genius with power on his mind. Acting alone, he figured that if he could acquire that list, he could create the single most powerful team alive - or get rid of the competition. Ironically, his scheme led to the creation of Cerebro.

This current pet project of Xavier's was an after school program, though all ages were encouraged to participate, with the intention to promote cooperation between humans and mutants, but due to a lack of normal human interest, the program had been suspended shortly after its creation. However, some continued with the club even after its untimely death. Reed Richards, for example, had met his future wife during the club, but her obnoxious little brother had prevented her any free time to get to know Reed. Regardless, Reed stuck with the program in hopes of meeting her again - which would only happen again in a few years.

Victor von Doom, once as handsome as he is devious, sat surrounded by a number of faces. Among them was rival teen genius, Reed Richards, and his close personal friend, aspiring pilot Ben Grimm. It had been no secret that Doom had had one foot in the doorway to evil, but one the other hand, he had only submerged that far. As far as the gathered do-gooders could tell, this could have been an honest attempt at redemption. The ageless mutant who went by the name of Wolverine wasn't as gullible as the rest.

"All in favor of turning away the charlatan, say nay!" Magneto, or Erik Lensherr as he was also known, was against the addition of the young boy, the reasons of which he kept private, even from his good friend, Charles.

Professor Charles Xavier, on the other hand, wanted to believe in young von Doom, and after scanning through the boy's mind, could find no proof to doubt him, "And those who believe in the ability to change, say aye!"

One or two hands shot up on the nay side, and about three went up for aye, but it was obvious that most of the assembled where still unsure. Reed was all for Victor's joining them, but Ben was right next to Wolverine saying that there was no way in hell a leopard could change his spots. Standing up among the others in the back row, Natalia looked at the young man, who by looks appeared to be no more than a few years younger than her, and she raised her hand.

"I say let the boy in. I know what it feels like to be questioned, pushed to the outside, forced to watch everything happening inside." Seeing such a prominent name standing up for the teen, a large number of the assembly agreed right away to trust in the boy.

What fools they all were! But the crafty genius had to wonder why the woman had stood up for him...

While his fate was being decided by "_The Opti-mystics_", the hands of the clock spin forward not by hours or days, but years. Nearly two decades later, the hands of time slow to a stop, and the age of heroes has arrived at last! The world is currently in a state of peace, but evil never rests, and the heroes of the universe are fighting harder then ever to protect mankind from unseen peril! But even the heroes have downtime...

Johnny Storm, Susan Storm's little brother and Reed Richards brother-in-law-to-be, a founding member of the Fantastic Four known publicly as the Human Torch, was looking at the nut he had yet to crack. The flaming heartthrob and media staple had been courting this particular ice princess for three months now, and she had not yet surrendered to his charms. He decided that if she didn't give in tonight, this was going to be the end of their relationship.

Said queen of stone was none other than the daughter of billionaire Tony Stark, the infamous playboy otherwise known as Iron Man. Violet Katherine Stark, heiress to the entirety of the Stark name, even though they both had the same basic eye color - blue, but while his eyes dazzled, her's looked nearly navy-black - she looked nothing like her sire; but for good reason: Violet Stark had been adopted.

What happened was that she had been left outside of Stark Tower, where the Avenger's would later come to call the building their HQ, and young Tony had decided to take the two year old in. True, he had been under pressure to settle down and produce an heir to the vast Stark fortune, and stumbling across a far easier tool to appease not only the shareholders but his faithful assistant Virgina "Pepper" Potts, drew up adoption papers faster than the ink could dry on his will. Pepper disapproved of the venture, but sooner rather than later discovered that the baby had been a good thing to help ground the hard partying hero.

Knowing how easily she could look into public records, Tony had been nothing but honest about his daughter's adoption. Over time, the fact that they weren't related by blood ceased to matter, and they became as close as a father could be to his child. To this day, they remain close, though there was undeniably a rough patch in her teens.

* * *

><p>I know that this story is categorized under Thor, but that's only becuase Loki is the main character (Thor himself might be of relevance - you'll just have to wait and see! Tee-hee, I love being evil!). I did debate with making this straight up Marvel, or even Avengers, since they also play a big part in this, but I went with Thor in the end! Um, yeah... I was going to wait to reveal that Violet was adopted, but that would probably only have lasted until the beginning of the next chapter, so what the French, I'll just tell everyone that right away. Hopefully I set the stage...<p> 


	7. Tonight

Planning to romance her off of her feet by switching up his game, Johnny had prepared his penthouse especially for a romantic dinner for two. Fair enough, the floor really belonged to the Fantastic Four, but seeing as Ben was out with his longtime girlfriend, Alicia Masters, and Reed and Sue were otherwise occupied at a symposium, the place was empty and might as well have been his own. Playing it by the cheesy romance book, he scattered rose petals over the ground, hired a renowned violinist, and decorated the balcony with a table perfectly suited for a more intimate party. Donning a designer suit, tie left hanging on either side of his neck; Johnny knew that tonight was going to be special.

Knowing that her boyfriend was planning on a romantic dinner, assuming that he would take her to some famed restaurant, she dressed in a simple, floor-length dress. All black, her gown slit up the thigh and had an open back, to which she added a silver brace on her left wrist. As per usual, she left her tangle of brown tresses free to curtain her tapered face.

Arriving at the destination in her outdated - according to her father who insisted on buying his cars before they were even off the factory line - Spyder, Happy Hogan, her father's former bodyguard and chauffer, looked over at his passenger and charge, "Vi, you know what your father would say if he were here right now, so I'm not going to remind you, but tell me, is this Storm boy really someone you want to keep around?"

Happy never was like an employee in the eyes of the Stark family, so really, he could say anything he wanted to without fear of being fired, because he was like family, and Violet had always viewed him like an uncle of sorts, but this was a matter that she would rather keep between herself and Johnny, "Happy, you are aware of my fondness for doing what I'm advised not to do, aren't you? Everything must be my own idea."

"This isn't a matter of whether or not you should something. I just want to make sure that this is want you really want," He thought back to when she was a little girl and would hop from toy to toy before anyone could make sense of what she was up to, not that that had any sort of relevance to his words now. He was merely reflecting on the time he had known her for.

She frowned, softening her expression so that she looked even younger than what she really was, "Happy, you know that I value your opinion... You've always been like an uncle to me! But to be honest with you, I'm still trying to make my own mind up about that. Tell you what, why don't you keep close, and if I have to, I can call you?"

With her persuasion, compromise, and logic skills, he easily understood why she had risen quickly through the corporate ranks on her own merit, "Fine. I'll just keep myself busy while you smooze your pretty boy."

She beamed, thanking him with a hug. Happy really did have her best interests at heart, so she wished that she could have given him a more satisfactory answer, but she was still in the dark about how she felt about Johnny. He was charismatic, could be very sweet when the cameras weren't on him, and he was a good guy on a certain level, but there was still a kind of spark missing. She enjoyed looking at him, but she felt as if that wasn't enough in a relationship, and sadly, he hadn't really let her in, so she had no idea who he was as a person. Deciding that it was now or never, tonight would decide the fate of their relationship.

She wasn't holding her breath...

Three years shy of two decades ago, give or take, the God of Mischief had been banished from Asgard to Midgard, and his powers had been completely stripped. He had encountered a woman that he had thought of as a friend, though by now he came to realize that he had had deeper feelings than just that of a friend for her, but she had been stolen from him by death. Her laughing face still haunted him to this day, at least, it would have if he hadn't stumbled across a mistake had made on the night of her demise...

Watching Violet grow up from afar, never once revealing his presence to the girl lest she get the wrong idea or alert the wrong people, Loki had suffered his error in distant silence. Watching her even now, he was full of regret that he had sworn himself to staying nothing but a shadow to her. It wasn't that he had necessarily wished that they could know each other - he just was opposed to her brash, arrogant boyfriend, if one could even call him such. Johnny wouldn't put her in physical danger, but Loki wasn't so sure that she would remain unscathed from this night.

Yet wraithlike as the deity was, Violet had always felt as if she were never truly alone. She never bothered to speak to the ghost that stalked her, mostly from fear that she would come across as crazy, nor did she ever mention the feeling that she was being watched to even her closest confidents. But as she rode the elevator up to the penthouse, she felt the presence more clearly than ever before...

* * *

><p>Yes, Happy (more the movie version than the real one) now works for Violet rather than Tony though they still remain close friends. Oh, and her car is the same silver one Tony was driving in Iron Man 2, at least, I think that he was driving the Spyder... I fail epically at stuff like cars. Well, that doesn't matter! I think that that is all for now...<p> 


	8. A Woman To Call Mother

Dinner went well. In fact, dinner went so well, Violet had allowed herself to be steered to the living room, which had been specially cleaned out of its usual "scientific junk" for tonight. She was even enthralled enough by the charade to think that maybe, just maybe, this relationship could work. What a naive sentiment! Johnny could tell that that he was winning this battle, so he had all but checked her name off of his "nice" list and moved it over to the naughty side. But the night wasn't over yet and it was still far too early to be counting chickens before they hatched.

Snuggled between the low light of an atmospheric fire and the warmth of body heat, Violet was sandwiched between the couch and Johnny, their lips locked in a struggle for dominance. Losing the war shortly after it began, Violet slowly backed away as she felt a hand that wasn't her own on her thigh. Blinking at her man, she pushed him up enough so that he could explain himself.

"What do you think you're doing?" She shook her head in disgust, partially hoping that he had forgotten her stance on intimacy in the heat of the moment. She wouldn't hold her breath on it, but she did believe in the benefit of the doubt and the idea that one was innocent until proven guilty.

Looking at her with puppy dog eyes, all sapphire-blue and sparkly, he flashed his crooked, signature 'woman-melting' grin, "That's right, I almost forgot about daddy's little safety precaution! Care to do me the honors babe?"

Tony, being the type of person that he was, was more than aware of what males wanted from females. Having a daughter of his own now, even though he had raised her better, still had her outfitted with a special kind of chastity belt to keep guys away from her. Born with the magical ability to change things on a less than atomic scale, she easily could have undone the belt herself, but vowing to save herself until marriage, or at the very least until she found someone she truly loved, she never tried to remove it.

"Are you kidding me?" She shoved him off, jumping to her feet to glare at him, "Do you really think that I would do something like that after only three months of dating someone? You're a pig! Have a good life, Johnny Storm, just don't expect me to be a part of it."

He looked at her in confusion for a minute, understanding suddenly dawning on him, "Oh, I get it. You just always do whatever daddy says, don't you? Daddy tells you to jump, you beg him to tell you how high! How adorable... for a five year old."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she began walking to the front door, "My father has nothing to do with this, you imbecile! Tonight was supposed to be about you and me getting to know each other, but of course, being ruled by your anatomy, you had to turn all of this into a some sort of hunt. I'd normally say that this had been fun, but that would a complete falsification."

Rushing to the door, he momentarily stopped her from exiting the building by thrusting his arm out at the knob, "You want to know the real me? I'm shallow ... all surface glitter and flash - just like my powers! I'll even add an extra something, princess - I don't have any time for charity cases, so don't bother crawling back to me when you realize that you can't do any better than the awesomeness that is Johnny Storm!"

Reaching under his arm to open the door, she had one last thing to say to him, "Don't worry, the only crawling I'll be doing is away. Even if I was dying and the only person within miles of me was you, I would still risk inching myself twice as far, just to avoid seeing you ever again!"

And she left him standing there like a complete loser. But in the end, he would have the last laugh: Going to the paparazzi, Johnny Storm publicly outed Violet Stark as an "Ice princess that not even the hottest of flames could melt", along with many other slanderous comments painting the heiress in a bad light. Unaffected by what the masses thought of her, though a fair few had thought his malicious attack was uncalled for and sided with Violet, she was hurt that he would do something so cruel.

Confining herself in her room, without visitors and barely a scrap of food, Violet moped around for a full week, until the day her father returned from hero business in Asgard. The only person she wanted to see was the only person who could make her feel better, and he was sadly in another dimension. The day that Tony returned, he was greeted by his little girl running to the front door, jumping in her father's arms with tears in her eyes. Being in another dimension, Tony had had no inkling that something had happened, becuase if he had known, he would have returned home much sooner to be with his daughter.

Looking from the hysteric girl in his arms, knowing that something must have happened with Johnny to make her act like this, he glanced over at a silhouette standing on the dark side of the staircase. He mouthed the word 'break-up', and the vermillion-haired figure nodded, stepping into the light to put a hand on Violet's quivering shoulder. A feminine hand. A blue, feminine hand. Standing behind Violet was none other than reformed villainess, shape-shifting mutant, Mystique.

Mystique, or Raven Darkhomle as she was born, was once as bad as they came with a kill record to match, but, through raising her children and joining the X-men in coinciding causes on multiple occasions, she had found herself ultimately working on the side of good, not that she herself had switched alignment. Working mostly as a freelance mercenary, the master of disguise had found herself helping the Avengers, where she met Tony Stark's young daughter. Coming to view the child as one of her own, the birth mother of Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, and the foster mother of Anna Marie, Rogue, had unofficially adopted the girl as her own.

At first, Tony was against Mystique spending so much time with Violet, but he eventually saw that it was a good thing for Violet to have a mother figure in her life, especially in the teen years. It took some getting used to, but after time, the mutant had become a part of their family, along with her children. Violet loved them all as much as if they had been blood related.

* * *

><p>I know that in the comics, Mystique isn't Rogue's real foster mother, but in this universe, she is. Mystique, and probably everyone else appears more like their movie appearance than the comic one, but they still aren't carbon copies of the film. Yeah, that pretty much sums this all up...<p>

OH! Nah, I'm just screwing with ya! That was all.


	9. The Merc With A Mouth, Deadpool!

Retreating from the outside world, and a vast majority of the business world, Violet had began a strict regiment to refocus her goals and attention. That was just a fancy way of saying that she had taken from holing up in her room to keeping herself busy with menial tasks, such as paperwork that Pepper brought in from the office - mostly her father's - and spending her time at the indoor gym, training with her numerous mentors. Currently, she was sparring with the lethal Black Widow.

Twisting her arm behind the younger woman's back, the red head had her heel in the girl's spine, pinning her to the wall without mercy, "You lack dedication! What's going on in that pretty little head of yours? On second thought, I'd rather not know what torrid little fantasies the daughter of Iron Man can cook up."

Violet found it odd, but the Black Widow had always had a twinge of concern for her well being, but at the same time, she almost never followed through with her train of thought. What was it that Natasha Romanoff knew about her? Did she even know anything? No, Violet was convinced that she did, becuase if the woman hadn't known anything, she would have just left her alone. But then, what could she possibly have known about her? Violet thought that maybe she might know who her real parents were, but considering that there was no trail to follow, she thought that that was highly unlikely and that she was just being optimistic.

Clearing her mind to concentrate on the matter at hand, the brunette brought her leg up behind her, nailing her opponent in the back of the head. Natasha released her, retaliating with a well-aimed blow to the abdomen, "Good work, little girl, but if you want to run with the pros, you'll have to do much better than that!"

Grinning wildly like the Cheshire cat from 'Alice in wonderland', Violet's hand began to move like that of a conductor instructing an orchestra without the use of a baton, and the Widow's bare hand shot up to her chest, pulling at the hem shirt that was beginning to get lower and lower all by itself, as if invisible needles were unstiching the fabric into nothingness, "Is that alright? I mean, we didn't say that powers were against the rules, so technically... Well, do you surrender, or would you rather me shrink you down to nothing?"

"Fix it." She ordered, unamused by Violet's antics and unsurprised that she had caught the loophole and exploited it. Sometimes, that girl really could be a handful!

Smirking mirthfully, Violet gave her hand a lazy wave and the material restored itself to its original height. Popping up behind Violet, a gun pointed at each temple, a man with an unmistakably distinct voice whispered in a deadly hiss, "I liked it better the other way."

Unflinching, Violet turned around, held the guns to her head, and had a rather nasty leer in her eyes that seemed to be specially reserved for the 'attacker', "Www. merc. com, you didn't answer my calls. Because of that, I'm going to make you buy the chimichangas this time!"

Pouting in false panic, the masked 'Merc with a Mouth' lowered his so-called doorknobs, "But Violet-Blue! Fine, you win this round, Optimus P!" He wasn't speaking to her at that point, so she allowed him to continue, "I swear, VB, I don't know who's eviler - You or the Olsen Twins! Oh, that reminds me, I caught the news. Small little matter. Should blow over in the next few days. Tough luck about that wannabe boy-band prick."

She shrugged, unconcerned about Johnny in her companion's presence, resting her head against Deadpool's shoulder as they left the training area - and a very baffled Black Widow - behind. Being with him made her laugh, even when he was being extra insane, and therefore, cruel, "Johnny's no Wade... Maybe Wanda, but since she's Wade too, that nullifies the point. Oh, I know, he's no .com! No, that still relates him to the best mercenary I know, so that won't work... Damn, what shall this ex be called?"

But Deadpool, aka Wade Winston Wilson, was no longer listening to her. The last thing he heard was her talking about some mystery assassin, and then he snapped, bowing to one of his fits, "The best mercenary you know? How many do you really know, Negative Zero? Or should I even call you that?"

Negative Zero was the name Violet went by on the rare occasion that she herself joined the battlefield. Negative Zero had also encountered Deadpool a number of times as an enemy before Violet Stark became his friend, "DP, I'm not - "

Her head was in the wall before she could spout another lie, and her arm was in danger of breaking as he twisted it around in the socket. Deadpool came to his senses as fast as the fit had struck, and he helped a disoriented, profusely bleeding Violet from the floor. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he hoisted her to her feet and supported her weight as they walked up the remaining few feet to the lobby. He was whistling merrily as if he had not nearly killed his friend, and though she was injured, Violet was humming the same song to a different, more depressing tune.

Lugging her to the exam room, where she was tended to right away, he sat in the corner of the room and watched the medic work. The medic just so happened to be her brother, Kurt Wagner. Shaking his blue head at his sister's choices in company, Nightcrawler sat his sister up and began to tend to her head, though he could only do as good as an ordinary human doctor under the circumstances. She was half delirious, but Kurt knew that she would ultimately be alright because she had suffered worse before - also by her so-called best friend's hands.

"Was now?" He began cleaning up the blood and bandaging her head as Deadpool launched into hysterics, though the blue fuzzball wasn't sure if they were real or not, "Another lover's spat? No, another visit from the monster called insanity."

"Be nice, he's going through a lot right now! He lost his family around ten years ago!" Violet probably would have said that even if she wasn't convinced that her foster brother had suddenly grown purple wings and had shed his fur, only to replace it with white scales, "Deadpool's really down on his luck, and he doesn't need your negativity. And, we're not lovers! Just really good friends that... Hehe, look at all the butterflies!"

She had suddenly become very interested in a patch of ceiling just over Kurt's shoulder. Groaning, Nightcrawler knew that he was going to be in for one tough night...

* * *

><p>Translation note, as Nightcrawler is of German descent, he is really saying "What now?". But man, another crazy? And just what is the deal between Deadpool and Violet? So many questions! And where the hell is Waldo? Ah, I amuse myself sometimes! Uh, was there something else... I teased the whole Deadpool thing... I pointed out that Kurt's dialogue wasn't a typo... Damn, I could have sworn that there was something else! Oh well, must not have been very important!<p> 


	10. Infinity Gems

A short time had passed since Deadpool's arrival at Stark Tower, and for everyone who wasn't his closest friend, it seemed as if the hours had been quadrupled and the seconds exponentially increased. Violet, who was almost completely back to normal, was doing much better since both her break-up and being slammed into a wall, and due to an organization-wide fondness for her, the others tolerated her best friend - not without difficulty. Some members, such as Bruce Banner, had to double up on work just so the Hulk wouldn't emerge and destroy the entire building...Again. Deadpool, actually on a top-secret assignment from an undisclosed, generous client, rather enjoyed the way people would crawl all over each other just to escape his mouth.

His job was to get the Infinity Gems, all six of them from their collective possessors; Captain America, Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Thor, and Professor Xavier. The Infinity Gems are separated remnants of a single, galactic being that have become associated with a different faucet. The Time Gem, held by Steve Rodgers in a twist of cruel irony, has the ability to control time, master age, and see into the past/future, while Tony Stark holds the Space Gem, which deals mostly in teleportation and the power to interfere with the motion of objects. Reed Richards has the Reality Gem, which in no great twist can alter reality, the Mind Gem, in Charles Xavier's capable hands, can grant near limitless psionic capabilities, and the Soul Gem in Stephen Strange's care is an actual window to the soul and can also return other's to their original state. Thor's Power Gem may increase natural traits, and can duplicate any known power and magic. Good as that sounds, the Infinity Gems are actually bound by the user's skills and experiences, so not anyone off of the street could use them, but in a skilled user's hand, any one of the Gems could be all powerful.

But Wade had a plan, at least for the Space Gem...

Victor von Doom stood above the swirling grey tendrils of smoke, watching the mayhem and carnage unfold from the rafters. He yearned to be down there with everyone else on the spacious warehouse floor, mangling his foes and crushing his enemies, but alas, someone had to make sure that everything was going according to plan. If there was anything he had learned, it was that if you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself.

Hours prior to Von Doom's warehouse scuffle, Deadpool was standing in a master bedroom that knew no equal in splendor and was heads above the rest in terms of grenadier, or was at least the second of two such rooms. A glass chandelier wired with electric lights hung at the foot of a gigantic king-sized canopy, gossamer periwinkle-blue curtains pulled tightly shut in its owner's absence, the floor-length windows covered by deep navy curtains, and from somewhere unseen, was heavy metal music playing in the background. Sticky fingers hovering inches from the lid of an ornate box engraved with a soft pink lotus, he thought ever so briefly of the consequences. Then, he thought of how he had come to be Violet's friend. If she could forgive him for trying to assassinate her, surely he would be forgiven - if he were discovered to be the thief - for pinching her necklace.

Tony, the keeper of the purple Space Gem, had had the stone fashioned into a necklace, which he gave to his daughter on her sixteenth birthday. Unbeknownst to all was that it was truly the Space Gem, as he had made a passable fake and had kept it safe in a secret vault. None the wiser, only Deadpool, and possibly a handful of others, had suspected the truth. Violet knew nothing of the Infinity Gems, thinking only that her gift had been extremely rare, and as such, she only removed it when bathing.

Snatching the silver-hung Gem from its resting place, Deadpool pocketed the valuable and left Violet's room in the blink of an eye. It would appear that he could tap into the Gem's power...

Fast-forwarding ahead, Violet had found that her most beloved trinket was gone, but due to unforeseen circumstances, was given no time to search for it. The alarms were blaring throughout every single room in the complex, red lights flashing on or near certain doors, and partitions began closing over the exits, effectively locking everyone inside the building. Stark Tower had been breached.

Using the Space Gem, Deadpool had managed to snake not only Violet's Gem, but Captain America's orange Time Gem, and Dr. Strange's green Soul Gem. The Time Gem had been laughably easy to acquire, but the Soul Gem had been protected by mystic shields, and Deadpool had accidentally tripped one or more of them when he carelessly reached out and grabbed it. But he had been ready for such an event, so he merely beat it before the security system had detected the threat.

Lingering outside of the designated meeting place, Deadpool exchanged his find for the promised amount of money, telling his client, "It was one of the toughest jobs I have ever had, but I managed to acquire two of those Gems. I trust you can take matters into your own silver hands from here?"

Taking the purple Space Gem and orange Time Gem from the masked annoyance, Doctor Doom looked at the fabled items, pleased by Wade's work, "How does it feel to betray your friends for a few measly million?"

He seemed to stop and think about it, but the nemesis of Reed Richards doubted that the mercenary even cared who got in the way of his paycheck, "I'll live with it. This pay dirt can buy me once nice shower..."

* * *

><p>Oh. My. Gods. This hot crazy guy and his friends are really Gods? Wait, wrong thing! Sorry, random thought. Anyways, DP betrayeded Violet? And no one saw through Tony's rather obvious gift? Somehow, that is all very believable, especially the last part. I'm just saying, for a bunch of geniuses, sometimes they don't seem very bright. And OMG, I frigging love the Infinity Gems! So glad I did some extra research!<p> 


	11. After All These Years

With the combined powers of both the Space and Time Gems, the former of which was hard for Deadpool to part with, Victor Von Doom could not only look through time, but pull anything from it, including massive armies. Combine that with the trickery of his most powerful ally, and he was all but unstoppable. But why just stop there? Drawing to him all who opposed the superheroes and aging those who would benefit from the gained experience with the Time Gem, reversing time for those who might also draw great benefit, Victor Von Doom found himself in possession of what possibly could be the strongest team ever! With even just these two Infinity Gems, the world was just the defeat of one nuisance away.

Summoning one and all to the abandoned Stark warehouse facility, claiming that he had a deal to make with the Avengers, he felt as if the heroes deserved no better burial ground than a vacant lot that would no doubt be reduced to rubble in the coming scuffle. Victor decided that there was no better time than the present to launch his assault and claim what should rightfully be his. Emma Frost, his faithful right hand and villainous fiancé, agreed wholeheartedly that now was as good a time as any to ascend to the top of the world.

Passed the din of a gradually fading battle, Loki gazed through the hazy white smoke that he himself had manufactured, seeing none other than his older 'brother', the mighty Thor Odinson. Battered and nearly broken by the army that Dr. Doom had brought over from another dimension in another time, the younger Asgardian had searched for his brother in the midst of all of this turmoil. Begrudging him as he did, Loki still had the vaguest traces of love in his heart for his foster family, or at the very least for the only other man he saw fit to be King of Asgard, and the woman whom had acted as his caring mother. Seeing as Frigga was back home on Asgard, the only one that concerned him with his eldest brother.

At the very heart of the fray, very befitting of Thor's personality, he was fighting a losing battle against the alien symbiote, Venom. Akin to Venom's feelings for Spider-Man, Loki would have no other being finish his brother off, "Brock, desist. Or shall I see to it that you will never see your enemy dead?"

Eddie Brock, the host of Venom, glared at the famed trickster, "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?" Loki replied quite venomously, challenging the beefed-up alien. "Thor is my enemy, and as such, it wouldn't to to have such rabble disposing of him. The way I see it, if you lay another finger on him, I shall personally see to it that you not only lose the ability to kill Spider-Man, but that you should watch the hands of all others committing the murder you want most."

Hissing at Loki, Venom retreated from his grappling match with the god of thunder, leaving the schemer to it. Thor was glad that Loki had interceded, but knowing that it was only so he himself could deliver the finishing blow, he was aggrieved. Whatever he had done to awaken Odin's wrath, Loki was still his little brother, "Brother..."

Cocking his head to the side, the god of mischief pondered the possibility that Thor, even after twenty years, had yet to learn the truth. They had encountered each other many a time, but so far as the blonde was concerned, Loki had only turned traitor. Loki's true heritage had remained a secret between only three living beings, "Ever the sheltered son. So many fractured delusions. You know nothing of me. For all these countless millennia - when it comes to the two of us - you seem to have avoided the simplest of conclusions. Quite sad. But if it's truth you truly desire, Thor - then Loki can happily provide."

Understandably, the rightful Asgardian prince was baffled by his brother's harsh words, lost at their rather disguised meaning, "What madness is this? Loki, what are you saying?"

"Madness?" The slight brunette chortled, "I can see that your stupidity plays no part in this. I would tell you to ask the man that I called father, but as he has finally denied you this one thing - perhaps the most important thing - one would find it unlikely that he would finally confess to you now. The truth, Thor, is that I am not your brother - I never was. That's right, you may call me by my name, Loki Laufeyson!"

"You're Laufey's son? But," Thor shook his head in denial, "you killed Laufey yourself! Loki, don't tell me that you tried to... You tried to kill our father? Odin, the King of Asgard? So that is the truth of your banishment... Loki."

"You're not as stupid as you look. But enough of this! It ends now." Loki dealt Thor not only a heavy emotional blow, but a physical one as well. Smashing his golden staff against the side of his brother's head, Thor fell to his knees, looking up at Loki with pleading ocean-blue eyes.

"Stop!" A soft female voice cried out, the slender form of a woman throwing herself in front of Thor. Despite the rage of battle and numerous wounds, mostly sustained from a successful skirmish with Emma Frost - the white bitch had her nose busted up and a black eye - she appeared more angry than anything else, and most shocking of all - though the color was all wrong - she had Luca's eyes down the same retinal pattern, but they were burning through him with such an intense animosity, he was momentarily rendered paralyzed.

This was the first time he had seen Violet since she was a baby...

* * *

><p>La-freaking-gasp! An all-out war? Heavy. So, yeah, I made Emma a bad guy in this universe, and, Eddie Brock is Venom's only host (so far). But if Loki ever did want Thor dead (which watching the movie I have to wonder about that), I think that he himself would want to deliver the finishing blow. But then again, who knows? Maybe those of you lucky enough to have a comic book store that sells these magnificent pieces of work... I was only fortunate enough to purchase (though I still wonder how to this day) the entirety of Phoenix: End Song. But I have learned so much through the Marvel Database! Well, hopefully that's it... I swear that my bad memory is not a running gag! I am cursed with a truly bad brain. Boo.<p> 


	12. The Widow's Mission

Twenty some-odd years ago, in what is now called the Ukraine, a Russian-born woman gave birth to her first and only daughter. The woman was alone, in what was the equivalent to a barn, but the birth had gone well and there were no complications with the birth. Astoundingly so, considering that the woman had not wanted the child, but kept it alive and well out the sheer horror of killing an innocent life.

The woman had bundled up the child in a blanket, a bland brownish rag that was just large enough to wrap up the tiny child, thinking to herself that were she suited to be this child's mother, or anyone's mother, she would have loved this baby dearly. As it was, the woman was ill-equipped for the job, and seeing her plan as a good one, she had left the newborn outside of a monastery. This was the hardest thing that she had ever had to do, but deep down, she knew that this was for the best.

Before she left the newborn's life forever, the woman, crying her cobalt blue eyes out, whispered soothingly to the baby, offering it one last kindness. She did not hold an ounce of contempt for her daughter, only love, and the hope that this life would be better than what she would have given her, "I know that you will never remember this, but my darling, I shall remember you. I'm, sorry that this has to be good-bye, but trust me, my life is no place for you. Violence, danger... that's no place for a child. So, as a symbol of my love, I will give you one last thing - a name. You might never be known by it, but I will know you by it, Anesha Romanova."

"Romanova?" A muted voice whispered in hushed astonishment, watching the entire scene from afar, missing the first name. He had had no idea of Natalia Romanova's location - thinking her as dead as the rest of the world - nor had had he any clue that he would be witness to a scene such as this.

Loki waited for Natalia to depart before going to the stairs of the monastery and grabbing the baby, looked at the squirmy pink thing in his arms. He had no idea what possessed him to even linger during the Widow's emotional good-bye, let alone pick up the abandoned child, but something had inexplicably drawn him to the babe. There was the slightest chance that he had felt a stab of pity for the child, as he himself had undergone the same fate, but if that were the case, it would only have been part of the puzzle.

Gazing down at the brown-haired, blue-eyed girl, he saw someone he had thought long lost - Lucetta. He couldn't explain how he knew that she was in the child, but he simply knew that somehow, Lucetta's soul had resided in this body. Reflecting that perhaps the burst of energy he had created upon her death had somehow blocked her from her final resting place, but there was also the possibility that Luca's will had been too strong to die, and therefore - for whatever reason - had chosen to inhabit another body to live again.

"You have a strong will, my friend." Loki turned on his heel, taking the child with him, "For now, just for now, I think that I shall call you Hel. You would have enjoyed the irony there, right, my friend?"

And so Loki secretly raised the child on his own. However, as she grew older, he began to realize something else about not only Hel, but Luca and his feelings for her. While for the moment it was in a strictly innocent way, Loki came to the understanding that he himself might come to care for Hel in a way that was unbefitting of a father-like figure. His sole proof of this came with the dawning that he had truly felt something strong for Lucetta - stronger than attraction, and maybe even verging on the possibility of love, but not quite cemented enough to cross that threshold. Of course, he would never admit that he had fallen for a mortal, but in his heart and in his head, he knew it to be true.

But there was another factor that had lead to Hel's adoption - Victor von Doom. Victor had found Loki, and indirectly Hel, and attempting to recruit the deity to his mission, von Doom had threatened the safety of the girl. He didn't come outright with the threat, but it was heavily implied. Thinking that it was the only way, Loki joined up with Doom, but to ensure that she would be kept safe from Victor, he left her outside of the Avengers' HQ, where she was found by Tony Stark.

Yet the origins of Violet Stark had not ended there. Unbeknownst to the rest of the _Opt-mystics_, Natalia and Victor had become romantically involved, and during their very last mission together, she had been injected with a special serum that had counteracted the variant of the Super-Soldier Serum, which had been what had enabled her to be such a talented spy. During the time the cure had been in her system, they had procreated, yet Victor had never learned of this - the relationship had been rocky to say the least. Finding out that she had gotten pregnant, Natalia faked her own death while on another mission to have the baby in peace.

Loki had learned all of this, but he had never revealed Romanova's secret, mostly because he was ware of that fact that if Doom learned of his daughter, she would be taken from her home with the Avengers, and the only parents she had ever known...

* * *

><p>Use your feelings Luke, you know them to be true. Kay, just in case some of you are just fans of the movies, or my wordingformat confused anyone, I shall attempt to explain! So, the Black Widow, aka Natalia Romanova aka Natasha Romanoff, was born sometime around or before the second World War, I think, and at some point, she was injected by some kind of serum that makes her uber bad ass. It also prevents her from having children (however that came about), so, in order to give her that child while keeping things has real as possible, I gave her an anti-serum! Though I may or may not say it later, the effects of the cure vanished and she was once again awesome. As for what happened, Natalia was given the job to stop Doom, but instead they ended up reproducing, though she had the baby in secret. Feeling as if she couldn't cut it as a mother, she abandoned her baby, and by chance, Loki found it (odd, I know), and after realizing that he might end up caring about her too much (becuase the baby is Luca's reincarnation), he leaves her to Stark. He had more or less understood the situation (not originally aware of the baby's biological father), but in order to keep her safe, he never tells anyone her true identity. On another translation note, Anesha is Russian (and Greek) for pure or chaste. Oh, and in Norse mythology, Hel was the daughter of Loki. Yep, Violet's origins are revealed at last! Maybe now, we can focus more on the romance side? Geez!


	13. Staying A God's Hand

Shielding the weakened God of Thunder, shrimpy Violet Stark was all that stood between the God of Mischief and his prey. She was doomed, worse off than mincemeat Loki had clearly shown his intentions to murder his older brother at this time, so why did he stay his hand in the presence of that woman? Watching Loki's dance unfold from above, Victor von Doom quickly put two and two together, knowing how ruthless the god could be, even to creatures that sported silk and lace. This girl must have been the daughter that Loki had given up in some twisted notion of protection so many decades ago...

"I won't let you kill him!" She held her arms out to stop Loki should he attack, not that her stature could compare to the lithe Asgardian. Having trained underneath Thor - as well as most other members of the Avengers - Violet was intimately familiar with the body structure of Asgardians. They were all much denser than they appeared to be, so even someone as small as Loki would be a threat to well-trained operatives in their prime. It didn't hurt that, being a magician, Loki could augment his natural traits for a limited time.

The man in black and green and gold almost wanted to laugh at the ironic turn things had taken, but instead he merely shook his head, deciding to have a bit of fun, "No. You won't will you? She would have stood in my way too, had she the chance to be here today. So tell me, what is your relationship with my brother? Friend? No, you have a room full of them, dying, so why just stick your neck out for one of them? Let me guess, the brave prince had stolen your heart only to trample it? Was that close?"

Thor had been one of Violet's primary instructors, and as such, she had developed a rather protective streak when it came to him, even once going so far as to confront his fiance Sif about her feelings for the prince. Above most others, she would gladly do anything in her power for him, "My personal life has nothing to do with you, nor does my action here! I would gladly give my life for any one of my comrades, thank you very much!"

Loki couldn't help but to crack a smile, amused that she of all people should say that her life held no connection to his, "I would have to disagree there, Starkly."

Violet faltered at the intimate nickname her first love interest had given her, almost nothing but a sweet dream now to her weary ears, lowering her arms, cocking her head almost comically to the side, "Excuse you, what did you just call me?"

_Hannibal King__, the sarcastic vampire 'cabana boy' of the Nightstalkers,__ like all of Violet's past pursuits, was a short-lived concoction that some might have called the product of a flighty heart. The truth of the matter was that he had at one point befriended a certain heroine-in-training, who had just so happened to help him see the good in himself when he was undergoing the transition from evil vampire slave to cured vamp. While striking up a flirtatious friendship with the teenage magician, King had refused point-blank to engage in romantic entanglements with the then sixteen year old. The fact that she wanted an actual relationship hurt her chances more than her age. Yet their story didn't end there. King had grown accustomed to her over the years, and after a brief team-up against the vampire who had turned him (Deacon Frost), they gave it a shot. Discovering that they made better friends than lovers, they remained close, more or less losing contact with each other over the passage of time. Hannibal was the closest that Violet had come to finding love, but even at a young age, she knew that there was someone meant for her, still out there somewhere.  
><em>

"Starkly," He smirked, deriving pleasure from the look on her face as she stuttered incoherently, "Now, now, that's no way for a C.E.O. to be talking, is it? Here's what's going to happen - you're going to leave here and go live out the rest of your life, because I'm not going to fight you."

But Violet was still stuck on how he knew to rattle her cage. Only one man had had ever called her that before, and he had only done so between the two of them, so how in the world could this person have known about that? Unless... But she couldn't bring that up here, in front of all of these people! Sure, they might all die and this very well could be her only chance, but what if everyone had survived? They would think she was a lunatic if she brought up the wraith that hung over her shadow.

Crafting her words carefully, she was about to question the man, but she had been prevented by a dark green shadow sweeping over them. Landing with feline grace, Victor turned to Loki, at an utter loss for the dialogue when the purpose of this was death. Also, the chance to keep him in place was too great an opportunity to pass up. Looming over Violet, Victor wrapped his hand around her throat, holding her suspended in midair. She clawed uselessly at him, struggling for air, and Loki watched, lips going thin in an effort to seem unruffled by the obvious power-play.

Clutching tighter on her neck, just one good squeeze from snapping the vertebrae, Loki had had enough, and in one of the most conflicting moments of his life (should he save the friend he had been unable to save once before, or should he just let her memory die), grabbed his enslaver's arm, "Let her go."

Grinning beneath the expressionless silver mask that hid his scarred face, Doom released his prisoner, who massaged her neck, gasping for air. Thor had watched uselessly, catching his brother's jaw lock when Violet had been placed in immediate danger. Loki was concerned for her, but why? Was it possible that he had known Violet? The timeline of Loki's banishment and Violet's birth did match, but Loki? Thor knew his brother, and never once had Loki shown any sign of interest in others, male or female. But what else was there?

But Thor wasn't entirely right about Loki's aloof detachment - the trickster _had_ had affections for certain people over the course of his expansive lifetime.

* * *

><p>First Deadpool and now Hannibal? Geez, someone here sure has a thing for Ryan Reynolds. Early Ryan. I'm sorry, but from "The Proposal" onward (maybe before), I'm not liking his career choices. Anyway, getting back on track, I have decided to use movie Hannibal King, but I gave him more along the lines of comic book King's story. Ok, well, just the fact that Deacon Frost changed him as opposed to Blade:Trinity's Danica Talos. I love movie Deacon, so, muh!<p> 


	14. Who's Your Daddy?

Grateful to Loki for saving her neck, literally, albeit surprised by his actions, Violet gazed at her savior, drinking in every last detail about him. From his sleek maple locks, tickling the base of his neck, to his misleadingly trim body; eyes, piercing the most brilliant hues of green (though she would come to see shades of gray in their depths much later), thin, upturned lips both jubilant and mocking, all complimented with a noble brow. Arrayed in rich layers of banded and buckled black, cascading flows of emerald, and glimmering gold adornments befitting his rank, the God of Mischief had crowned himself with golden horns, which had caused his brother to fondly brand him 'cow'. While his continence commanded an air of apathy, there was something special about his demeanor that attracted the young woman.

Gleaning all of that from him in a single glance, one probably seen by every available eye, Violet looked head on at the trickster, rage and most other emotion sapped from her due to recent events, "Thank you, for saving my bacon back there - I owe you one. Don't take this the wrong way, but who in the blue blazes of Captain America's shield are you?"

"Brother," Loki turned his attention to Thor, his face turned down as if in hurt, "I'm surprised that you haven't mentioned me before. After all, our history runs deep. Why, if it weren't for me, your precious little Avengers wouldn't even exist."

She shook her head, ignoring the storming battles that still encased them in a world of mayhem and chaos, "So you're the one I owe my life to! But I must admit that I already knew all of that... What I want to know is your name, in your own words. Titles don't mean much to me. Never have."

She knew of him already, so why did she desire his name? Was she trying to stall for time? No, something told him that that wasn't it. Then what was it that she wanted him to say? But Doom, shrewd and cunning, had a stroke of inspiration from Violet's seeming insanity. Capitalizing from the mass confusion, the mastermind of this entire play strode over to the whelp, standing against his man, face-to-face.

"No, I agree. You should tell her who you are! I mean, doesn't she of all people deserve to know the truth? Or are you happy with the current arrangement?" Victor clasped Violet's shoulder with an iron death-grip, dragging her closer. Had Emma not been rendered unconscious at that particular time, she would have pounced on the girl and scratched her eyes out with her bare hands.

Bothered by their proximity, she tried to shove the villain away to no avail, so Violet gave up the futile effort and deviated her focus to Loki instead, a look of extreme bewilderment on her pointed face, "What is he talking about? What arrangement is he on about?"

Looking forlornly between Victor and Violet, he bowed his head in defeat; Loki was intelligent enough to know that the game was over, and that if there was ever a time to play his trump card, it was now or never, "I was the one who left you outside of Stark Tower when you were a child."

And everything seemed to stop.

Hoping for a more drawn out, outwardly crushing revelation, Victor was disappointed that Loki had revealed himself to his daughter so soon, ruining his fun. But if von Doom was let down, it was nothing on the shock and anger that Thor had felt. Had Odin not raised them better than that? Not only had his brother neglected the poor girl for a majority of her life, but he had not told a single soul that he had offspring of his own. Not to mention the fact that this made him Violet's uncle!

Loki, on the other hand, still was not finished, "I found you outside of a monastery when your mother had abandoned you in the cold. I took you, but in the end, I had to do the same thing as your mother - We had to protect you."

"From what? Yourselves?" She was crying quite visibly, her shoulders trembling in a combination of fury and sorrow. She had spent her entire life - content as she was with Tony and Raven - searching for her real parents, and now that she had found them, she realized that her worst fear had come alive: She was despised for whatever reasons and was tossed on the first doorstep her parents could find.

Taking a step closer to the distraught woman, Loki's eyes flashed momentarily to Victor. Everything that he had done for this girl was about to be undone with three simple words, "From your father."

Now everyone was lost. Didn't he just say, not five minutes ago, that he was Violet's father? Or were they all smoking crack and misunderstood him? Recovering first, or perhaps too far trapped in her numbness to feel anything else, Violet spoke in a hollow voice, "My father? So let me get this right, my mother left me at a monastery to hide me from you, and then you found me, took me in for a couple of years, and then left me? All for my own good of course."

"As far as I can figure it, but I'm not your father. He," Loki pointed an accusing finger at Victor, "is your father. Isn't it true that you were consorting with Natasha Romanoff twenty-some odd years ago, conveniently just before she vanished for the better part of a year? Deny it all you want, but I saw her leave the child on the steps myself."

Forget that Victor von Doom was her father for a moment - Natasha Romanoff was her mother? The Black Widow? Now it all made sense! Natasha's constant treatment must have been due to the fact that she was concerned for daughter, but feeling that she had no place in the girl's life after abandoning her, would suddenly back down. But maybe she wasn't sure that Violet was really her daughter, so she had... No, being surrounded by high-tech equipment, it would have more than easy enough to nab a sample of her DNA and discover the truth.

Natasha being her mother also explained why they looked so much alike, minus their hair color. And the eyes. True, Violet had blue eyes like her mother, but the exact tones of blue were completely different, but that probably was due to the fact that her father had brown eyes. People had, or maybe would in the future, see a second Black Widow when they looked at Violet, but when Loki looked at her, he saw a second Lucetta Mannford.

* * *

><p>And the truth comes out!<p> 


	15. Doom's Ultimatum

Registering the fact that Natalia Romanova or Natasha Romanoff as she was now known was her biological mother, Violet Stark now had to face the fact that Victor von Doom, one of the universe's most wanted bad-guys, was her papa. Sure, he was a rich genius, but so was Tony Stark, so that left him with absolutely no advantage. Truth be, money was never much of an issue for the heiress as she had made her own name at a young age, but she decided to stretch her limits in order to see something redeemable in the stranger she knew only by name. Intelligence was good, but she knew all too well that the world was filled with all kinds of smarts, so even brains didn't count for too much in this situation.

Perhaps even more stunned than the girl he had been strangling not a minute ago, Victor thought back to his short-lived romance with the Black Widow, mental math finished before he could so much as pull the memories of Natalia's supposed death. So that was why she had... Looking at his daughter, Victor gathered his wits with lightening-fast mental reflexes, "So, Violet, was it? Natalia's form of a joke?"

"My father, Tony Stark - you've heard of him, haven't you - named me that because of my eyes. He said that I had a little violet in them. I had no name when I," She paused, locking her eyes on Loki, "was left at Stark Tower. Or did I, Loki? Tell me, as you seem to know so much about my life. Almost as if you were a shadow, watching my every last move."

He smirked, cracking a smile that only she saw, pleased by the way she had phrased her question, "A shadow you say? Yes, as my brother once said, some do battles, others just do tricks. But that would be quite the trick, wouldn't it? But you had a name. I myself would call you Hel."

Growing up around living history, Violet had understood the reference right away, and though Lucetta would have loved the irony, she was only mildly appreciative of the joke, "Hm, a crack at the false myths of the Asgardian gods. Clever. Though, if you don't mind my saying so, I would have thought that the God of Mischief would have come up with something a little more... I dunno, inspiring maybe? Or menacing? I mean, haven't you tried on numerous occasions to take something over? Don't misunderstand, I'm glad that I wasn't named something like 'Evilonia' or 'Tricka', but I must confess that after even just the scheme that made the Avengers possible, I would have thought that you had more creativity than that. But I guess that I should thank you for naming me at all. So, thank you, for caring for me for... however long it was that you did."

Curious as to how the famed trickster was going to take that jab, Victor and Thor both assumed that whatever bug had crawled under Loki's skin would perish and he would show Violet just how cruel he could be. Taking a deep, inner breath, Loki had momentarily contemplated putting her in her place, but as usual, meddlesome Lucetta had to intervene, "That's not a very nice way to behave. Just what would your parents say?"

Growing more and more more bored with this melodramatic soap opera, another evil plot forming him his head, Doom addressed his daughter, "Enough! Violet, I believe we have much to catch up on, so come with me." He offered her his hand.

"NO!" Thor stood up, but Loki knocked him back down, hissing something something that sounded an awful lot like 'quiet'.

But Violet didn't need Thor to dissuade her from going over to the side of evil. In fact, she was a little offended that he had said that, because anyone who knew her - and Thor knew her very well - should have known that she was a good guy. So to speak. Admittedly, her tastes in men could have made people wonder, and Thor knew all too well her drive to know where she came from. But still, they should have known that her own wish to learn her origins was not enough to eclipse her desire to protect the innocent. Much like in her last life, Violet was a truly good individual.

Not to mention the fact that she knew Doom's proposal would really be an ultimatum. Critical of the villain, she spoke sternly, "And what, pray tell, is the alternative to your most generous offer?"

He seemed to expect this reaction, because Victor triumphantly spread his arms wide open over his head, "If you don't come with me, all of your friends will die."

Ok, she had expected it to be bad, but not that bad! Casting a guilty eye around the battlefield, she saw many of her friends on the verge of collapse, if not utter defeat. Her brother-in-law, the mutant known as Gambit, was bleeding profusely not ten feet away from her, and his wife, Mystique's daughter Rogue, was sprawled underneath a heap of fallen construction materials.

She bowed her head in shame, giving Thor a sorrowful frown, "I'm so sorry... Fine, you win. Stop the battle, and I will go with you."

"Wise choice." Using his two Infinity Gems, Victor ceased the battling, transporting his forces back to Castle Doom, the base in his native Latveria. Turning her back on her bewildered comrades, Violet followed Doom from the warehouse, Loki bringing up the rear. Doom then teleported them all to the castle, making sure that at least half of the heroes had seen Violet's retreating back, which branded her as a traitor to their cause.

Arriving outside of the throne room, Violet kept her head down to hide her silent tears, but Loki wasn't fooled by her charade. Feeling responsible for her misery, he put his hand against the thick wooden doors, "Before you open this doors, maybe it would be prudent to prepare the others for this development. You know how Emma is."

Knowing better than anyone else how Emma could be, he thought of her and how she would take the news that one of her greatest enemies was going to be her daughter from now on. Sweeping his hand at Loki, Doom nodded his consent, "Take her."

Clapping his hand to her back, he steered Violet from the door, up to one of the countless bedrooms in the higher stories of the extravagantly furnished castle. She mutely allowed him to maneuver her body into the empty yet splendid bedroom, speaking with a dry mouth only before he turned to leave, "Wait..." He paused with his hand on the door frame, closing the door behind him with a flourish, "You knew, didn't you? You knew that this would happen."

"I knew. But I never wanted it to." He looked at her, green eyes shining brightly, almost as if they were asking to be forgiven, "You remind me so much of someone I once knew - a friend. Shortly before the events that led to your birth, my friend died. Shot by a pair of common criminals, my first real friend had died in my arms, and it was my fault. When I saw you, I knew that this was my chance to repay an old debt, so I took you in in order to keep you safe. But then he came, recruiting for his army, and he found you. So, to protect you, I left you with the one group of people I knew could succeed."

She tried to clear her throat, but it only sounded as if she had swallowed sandpaper, "How noble. I guess that I should thank you, shouldn't I?" She shook away tears that began to well up on her lashes, but she wasn't sure if they were still tears of sorrow or not, "But before I do, I have one last thing to ask you. You say that my mother abandoned me, and you say that when you saw me, you decided to keep me. My question is how did you come to find me in the first place, and why did you even bother to look at me?"

He knew that it wouldn't matter in a few moments, so he chose to tell her the truth, "Like you, I was abandoned at birth, but unlike you, I have never had anyone who loved me. It was by pure chance that I found you outside that monastery, but as I saw your mother parting, something made me stay."

She knew Loki's reputation for deception, but something in the way that he spoke to her told her that he wasn't lying, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the life that I had, so thanks. If there's anything I can ever do for you, please, let me know."

"Even after I turn you over to the likes of your father, you would still show your thanks to me? You truly are are a confounding creature, just like her." He almost smiled at Violet, but thought better of it and instead merely awaited her reply.

Piecing together that his friend was a woman and that everything he had done since her death had been for her, Violet correctly deduced that Loki had fallen in love with the woman, "Her? So, who was she, this 'friend' of yours?"

Realizing that he had said too much, Loki pressed his fingers against a jade-green amulet resting against his chest, "Lucetta... Prepare yourself."

Before Violet could question him, there was a blinding flash of greenish-white light, and she hit the floor, vision going black as she faded away. Annoying as it was to deal with and bribe the mercenary, he was glad that he had paid Deadpool for the Soul Gem. Picking her up and carrying her over to the bed, letting her fall with a heavy plop, Loki leaned over her unconscious form...

* * *

><p>O-tay! Yeah, I've been going for long enough, so I think that now I can ask my readers (again) for their thoughts on things. How is everything? How could I improve this story? What have been some good parts?<p> 


	16. A God Inisde

Using the Soul Gem to enter Violet's very essence had felt as if a bucket of ice-water had been dumped over his head, but his personage was completely dry - well, more the mental connection that had formed to bond his controlling mind to her dormant soul than an actual material being. Anyway, the jump into the soul of another was more of an actual dive than Loki had expected, but the god was not deterred from his task. He must find the part of Violet that was Lucetta, truly Lucetta, and bring her back to the surface with him. Easy as that sounded, he had to shift through Violet's memories, fears, hopes and dreams, her desires, her mind, and who knows what else to find what he was searching for. What he didn't know, was that the deeper he delved into her, the more he opened himself up in return.

Finding himself in a void of nothingness, pitch black and infinite, the God of Mischief scanned the mental plane for signs of anything other than himself, and opening his mind just a little, he saw jagged pocket after pocket opening up, each leading to another part of her psyche. Entering the opening nearest to him, the sliver of periwinkle widened, sucking him into the space that occupied it.

Opening his green orbs to the world around him, the cancerous sun was melting away into the waves of a milky ocean, and not five feet from him, secluded on a private beach, a considerably younger version of Violet was facing the waves, her hand resting on top of a well-toned six pack, head on a man's bare, muscular shoulder. The man she was with was not really a man, Loki knew, but the "cured" vampire, Hannibal King - Her first love. Having witnessed moments of their relationship in the past as little more than a specter, he had either missed this one or had stumbled into a world of her desires.

"Does the light bother you?" She rolled her eyes up, almost reluctant to peel them from the glistening water, though by the tone of her voice, they could both see through her thinly-veiled charade of nonchalance, "I said that this could have waited until later..."

He was looking at neither the scenery nor the girl with him, but at something beyond both of them, "The light is fine. It's this that's the problem. Starkly, you and I both know that - "

"No! I don't want to hear that!" She puffed her cheeks out like the child that she was, clamping her ears shut against his words, "I would rather have my head explode and a deep sea angler fish drag my innards from my nose! You hear me? NO SERIOUS FACES HERE!"

He rolled his eyes at her, "How can I debate that logic? Is that the same argument you used when you accepted your Nobel?" Looking at the demented scowl on her face, he continued, "How many romantic sunsets do former vampires get to have in their lifetimes? Let's make some bad decisions."

Her eyes lit up, and she just couldn't keep from clapping excitedly, "Yay, I love making bad decisions!" She muttered under her breath, "Especially ones that daddy has to find out about in the morning reports."

Ignoring the added statement, King looked at her almost grimly, "Oh, I know."

Violet responded positively, but Loki turned away, knowing that Lucetta wasn't going to be here. Strolling alongside the waves, the lull washing over grainy sand first then rich maroon carpet, he found himself in an unlit room. Eyes adjusting to the artificial darkness, Loki saw that he and Violet were both standing in the doorway of a bedroom, a bedroom that he quickly discovered was Tony Stark's. Tony himself - surprisingly alone without a pretty little bed-warmer - sat up groggily, focusing at the figure in his doorway, before she flung herself, crying, into her father's arms.

"Harry broke up with me!" If Violet had been upset by Johnny Storm, then her reaction to 'Harry' was on a whole other level, "The first person I open up to after... somebody else... And he dumps me! And for that stupid girl-next-door wannabe! Mary-Joe, or something like that..."

Apparently Tony hadn't known about Hannibal, "Wait, who?"

"Mary-Jill! Or was it Mary-Beth?" She knew what he was really asking, but she was still keen on keeping her vampire a secret. Not to mention the fact that she was distraught over being replaced.

"No," He wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily, even if this was the first time that she had been hurt, "Who are you talking about? I thought that this Harry kid was the first boy you took an honest interest in."

She looked at him guiltily, frighted that the jig was up, "Well, he wasn't the first one, exactly... But he was the first one that took a mutual interest in me as well..."

"Violet Katherine Elizabeth Stark," He never used her full name - Happy and Pepper bequeathing her with her middle names - so she knew that she was in trouble, "As your father, I demand that you tell me who you are talking about this minute. Listen to me, ordering someone to do something. I sound like my father..."

And now he was thinking of his father. Knowing her father like no one else did, aside from maybe Pepper, she knew how bad that was. Setting aside her own petty problems (who cares about a distraction like Harry Osborn anyways?), she reversed the roles of parent and whispered softly, "Hannibal King. Now, why don't you tell me all about it?"

Not caring an ounce to hear Tony Stark's skeletons, gritty and useful as they might be in the future, Loki turned back to the doorway, immediately to find himself back where he started - the nothingness. He would have thought that each pocket had held the entirety of her memories, but judging from the aurora surrounding him, and gauging his recent experiences, he found it likely that each pocket had contained only a miniscule sample. This was going to take forever!

Taking a delicate rose-colored opening, he found himself surrounded right away by scarlet veils and ivory trappings. In the midst of the area was a rather convincing wax dummy of Violet, gowned in a flowing flounce of fabric, all pale as china. Her head was crowned with a garland of pure roses, her lips painted to appear softer, with a hint of glitter. So, this was what she wished for? That was a tad commonplace for a Stark, wasn't it? Then again, this was only one of the things that could have wanted for herself.

Fluttering past his fingertips as he passed the display by, the curtains gave way to a barren room, decorated only with the face of a man. The man was everywhere, pictures of the most vivid colors and articles of the deepest black plastering the walls so that no available surface could be had, sculptures and busts cluttering the floor, leaving little in the way of walking space. Contrary to their interactions, Violet had appeared to know a great deal more about the man than she had let on, the little minx!

* * *

><p>My oh my! Just who could Violet be...crushing over? I'd say obsessed, but that's such and ugly word... Hem, the point is that Loki is finding a darker, more disturbed side to the heiress. And poor thing keeps getting dissed by all these hotties! First Johnny (my Johnny Storm has a more original appearance in this (I have a picture, but it still isn't quite finished yet)), then Ryan Reynolds, and now James Franco? Geez, can't this girl manage to keep one of them longer than a chapter? Nah, that might get in the way of the plot... Or would it?<p> 


	17. Rejected By God

While Loki was doing some soul searching, pun intended, the Avengers were gathering back at Stark Tower, already in a heated debate about how to continue. Thor, Tony, Mystique, Sif, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Gambit, Scarlet Witch, and the Black Widow were all in favor of mounting a rescue effort, but Wolverine (Mystique's fiancé) was leading the pack in saying that they needed to focus their manpower on the defensive, should Doom decide to launch another attack. Hawkeye was not helping matters by bringing up Violet's dirty laundry and pointing out not only a list of character flaws, but a detailed analysis of the scoundrels that she associated with.

"...And need I remind us of her latest miscreant? Her beloved Deadpool was obviously the one behind the theft of the two Infinity Gems, and she was the one who allowed the likes of him to roam freely! For all we know, she could have been in on it! Think about it people, most of us saw her turn her back on her friends and leave with Doom!" He pointed the finger at her, still unaware of the fact that she was also Victor von Doom's daughter, and that a third gem was missing as well.

Growing angry by the accusations, Thor stood up for the girl, "Violet's no more a traitor than you or myself! I was there, I saw the whole thing! Doom had found out about her, and he forced her into going with him! She sacrificed herself to save all of our lives! She's a real hero."

Natasha fidgeted, realizing the implications of Thor's words.

Standing up for his daughter-to-be, Wolverine got right in his face, claws threateningly close to giving Clinton Barton a shave he wasn't about to forget any time soon, "Listen, bub, that's my daughter you're talking about! Isn't Violet like a daughter to us all? Even Natasha has to agree, don't cha?"

Uncomfortable with the question, and that he should have chosen her out of every possible person assembled, Thor currently the only other one present who knew of her relationship to the girl, the Widow inclined her head, "She was basically raised by all of us. She's not Tony's daughter; she's the daughter of the Avengers. And as our daughter," She slipped between Hawkeye and his opposition, "we can't abandon her. Having said that, we can't all go charging after her either. Now Clinton, I'm sure that we can spare a few of our numbers to go after her..."

"Fine," He was weak against the charms of the opposite sex, especially the sultry flirt that was Natasha Romanoff, "Tony, Mystique, you two take Thor and go bring her back, one way or another. After all, you three know her the best."

So while the details were being sorted out, and Victor cooled down a furious band of evil-doers, and a livid Emma, Loki was learning more and more about Violet. He had already known a great deal about her, rightly so considering that he had shadowed her for entire life, but this was filling in just about every gap in his familiarity with the young woman. Yet, she wasn't the only one being examined.

Searching desperately for a way out of the place she had found herself in - the souls nearly identical to each other in every way - Violet had stumbled across a vast wealth of information about Loki. Information that she suspected no one knew, and that he would want no individual to know. Seeing first his patricidal acts and banishment at the hands of Odin, she also happened to witness several moments he had shared with Lucetta. Including her death. Ambling through his deal with Deadpool, she had grown to understand her situation, and though she was far from happy about it, she had chosen not to squander this precious chance to learn who the real God of Mischief was.

Walking into a lime-green opening, she found herself looking at a white space containing a sole book mounted on a handsome gold-wrought pedestal. The book was monstrous, bound tightly with black leather, and having no inscription, she cautiously opened it. Inside its pages was an assortment of pictures, beginning with a young woman with black hair. Knowing that the girl was none other than Sif, Violet felt a slight stabbing in her chest. Flicking through the volume, she found a few other pictures between the beginning and end... The end of the book was rather interesting, as it contained nothing but shots of Lucetta... and herself.

"Having fun?" A voice startled her so badly; she almost sent the book flying to the floor when she jumped to attention. Standing behind her was a clone of Loki, the real one still inside herself, and he did not look very happy to see her snooping around in his mind, "Why am I suddenly glad that I decided to secure the situation?"

She turned from the book, eyes flashing with murder, "You're one to talk about invading personal space! May I assume that the real you is able to see and hear everything that you do? Because I have a question, but I only want to ask it once."

"Very clever. Apparently Tony's generous donation to your education wasn't wasted. Yes, you assume correctly." He was curious about what she would inquire about, given their unusual circumstances.

Violet walked over to the clone as she were going to slap it, but she stopped short, "You saw the things that I covet most, didn't you? The person that I... am fascinated by?"

"You mean stalk?" He could describe it no better than that.

Her cheeks turned a very pale shade of magenta, "What can I say? Evil, whole or part, excites me, draws me in, and holds me close. Before, I would have said that there was no one more devious than you, but now that I have seen what lies inside your soul, I must admit that I was horribly misguided. I'm not trying to pity you, but I can honestly say that my heart bleeds for you. You've had such a hard life, and all you wanted was someone to tell you that they loved you."

"And let me guess, you think that person is you? You may have seen my life from afar, heard stories from those I once called my friends, and seen into me, but you don't know me!" His face was hard to read, and his voice, and his body language, so she had no idea how to proceed without worsening the situation.

Other than to be completely honest, which thanks to her upbringing was more than natural enough, "I never meant to get to know you this way... I never even thought that I would get to meet you at all... But I think that you're wrong. I do know you, and you are worthy. We've shared a deep connection, you and I, by this plan of yours, and no matter how much you try to object, this kind of bond is one that won't leave us the same. If you never cared about me before, unlikely after this," She jerked her head towards the book, "I know that after this, you must have some sort of thought about me."

He appeared to be less than thrilled by her words, but then again, appearances can be deceiving, "You waste your breath, mortal. Your words mean nothing to me, which is more than you concern the likes me, Loki Laufyson!"

Then again, they can be spot on...

* * *

><p>Burn! Poor girl puts herself on the line, only to get rejected! Wow, I really am mean, aren't I? Meh. And yes, I totally put Mystique with Logan! I actually much prefer Wolverine and Jean GreyPhoenix, but hey what cha going to do?


	18. The Widow's Wish

This was not the first lie he told that had hurt himself as well as another, but this was by far one of the most painful and most regretful lies Loki had ever fabricated. Naturally no one would ever know that, considering that he bottled up every emotion until they began to overflow, at which point they would have merged into something dark and spiteful, therefore obliterating - or nearly obliterating- any shred of reason he possessed in the first place. Getting back on point, the thing that killed him the most was not the look upon Violet's face - though that certainly added to the sting - but the fact that this particular rejection of the truth was truly him denying his feelings for Luca. At least, that's what he would have preferred the case to be. Loki had, as Violet pointed out, began to feel a certain kind of bond to her that he hadn't known before. It was undeniable that he had always felt protective over her, and that he had taken an interest in her, but to think for one moment that she was, nay, could have been anything other than Luca's lesser clone was madness.

But when had he ever been revered for his sanity?

Loki had begun to see firsthand that Violet had lived her own life; that she was her own person and not some shell to house the spirit of the dead. Violet had her own phobias and aspirations, fantasies and memories, friends, enemies, loves, and family. She was, admittedly, a completely different person than Lucetta had ever been, yet there was still something in her core that was the exact same. Something good, something pure. Whatever it was, it was what had drawn Loki to Luca in the first place, and it was probably half of what kept him coming back to Violet.

Recalling his clone to himself, now aware that she had not only been snooping around in his own mental domain but was now rebuffed, he thought again about his plan to bring back Lucetta.

Reconsidering his plan while still inside of Violet's soul, the rescue squad had arrived at Doom's Lair via tracking device. For once, the villain had no clue about the goings-on of his castle, though considering the fact that he was more than preoccupied entertaining his villainous guests and a mutinous Emma, it was more than understandable. Not to mention that Emma could be more than a handful on her own. It was a lucky break for the heroes, which they were rarely in short supply of. Moving on, the group stealthily bypassed Doom's even more hassled security and slid into the upper levels where Violet was being kept with considerable ease.

"She should be up there," Raven pointed up at the numerous ceilings above them, her blue skin tingling and rippling all over as she took the form of Victor von Doom, "I'm going to get a look around. Tony, why don't you make sure the coast is clear?"

He was already inputting the figures into his suit, "On it."

Thor glanced between the two, "I'll go take a walk."

Splitting up, the team disbanded to search the gigantic castle for their little girl, their special little Violet. Victor von Darkhomle, aka Mystique, took to searching the old fashioned way - infiltrating the premises until she found a guard to take her to see Violet. Tony was working on not only a prototype field mapping system, but was also preparing their ride for when they got his daughter back. Thor had the sinking feeling that Violet would be with Loki, so instead of trying to find her, he was searching for his brother. Given his suspicions about her whereabouts, he sincerely hoped that he would be the one to find her first.

Loki had clashed with the others on countless occasions, but every last time that it happened, it made Thor feel farther and farther away from the little brother he loved. He much preferred it when it was him against the God of Mischief, because at least then, he could sense his brother's mind unclouding from its fog of malicious evil as he knocked some sense into him. No matter how twisted Loki had become, Thor knew that there was still some good in him.

"Please, brother, don't do anything that can't be undone..." Thor pleaded aloud, praying that his brother was listening.

So began the race to find Violet. As she slumbered away in bed, Loki's prone body slumped over her own in a questionable manner, the spirit of the girl continued to wander around inside of Loki's mind, though she had began to encounter barriers such as sealed entrances and locked doors. At this moment, all she had on her mind was the harsh sting of rejection, though all the while as she walked, a voice at her ear kept prompting her to not give in to the pain and to continue forward with her head held high. The voice was not unlike that of her vampire, King.

And it was right. She couldn't give in, not now. Not this soon in the game! Her father had taught her better than to just give in, especially when it came to getting what she wanted. Maybe not the best lesson for her, it was certainly handy in this situation, and certainly not a bad thing to think back to. Besides, just because she had heard it from his mouth directly didn't necessarily mean that it was the truth. Everyone knew that the trickster wasn't to be trusted...

"The daughter of Tony Stark doesn't give up so easily, sorry." Violet said out loud, unconcerned as to whether or not Loki had heard her. As chance would have it, he did hear her, and he was neither pleased nor upset by her declaration - he felt as if he were being torn and had to make a possibly life-altering decision.

But what choice was there, really? Lucetta was dead, and though she had somehow managed to live on in Violet, he was doubtful that she would be happy about being brought back, especially the way he had done it. Besides, if he had succeeded in bringing Luca back from the dead in Violet's body, what would happen to Violet? It would end her, one way or another, and after spending all of these years with her, was he truly prepared to part with her? He had thought so, but now he wasn't so sure.

Violet had, somehow, become something special to him that he just couldn't give up. Not in this way.

As the rescue of her daughter commenced, Natasha found herself pondering the future with greater concern than she ever had before. If Violet had learned the truth of who she was to her, how would the girl react? Would she expect answers? Or some sort of bond? Or would she merely ignore the woman who had carried her to term, acting as if the shape-shifting mutant was still her mother? But the most involving question of all was the one that was perhaps the most selfish: What did she want? After watching her daughter grow from afar as a complete stranger, did she have any right to want anything from the girl, one way or another? Her intentions had been for the best, but upon learning that her actions had ultimately backfired, shouldn't she have come forward sooner? Or at all? She yearned with all of her fibers to be the girl's mother, to brush her hair out after a stressful day, to gossip about boys, to hold as she cried, to spoil her... She wanted to be Violet's mother...

* * *

><p>Well, that was certainly the chapter, hm?<p> 


	19. A God's Whim and A Sleeping Bloom

Loki stood at what he thought was a cross-roads in his life, only to discover that there was only one path to walk, that there had only been the one path for these last twenty or so years. Lucetta had been an eye-opener to the resentful god, and Violet the sight he beheld. Would the god always remember the deceased woman with kindness? Of course he would, just as he will always love Violet. Luca was a beautiful dream, but Violet was the promise of a bright new morning, the reason to rush through this eternal slumber he had been living in, so it was time for him to take the next step and wake up...

Thor rushed passed lofty stone windows exposing the dying day, throwing door after door open in a crude attempt at locating his brother. The method was more effective than one would have guessed, considering his efforts were rewarded after only a few attempts of monotonous combing. Laying unconscious in a grand bed, crashed on top of Stark's young daughter, was none other than Loki himself. It was strange to the God of Thunder - as an outsider to the situation - but Loki actually looked happy, and had Thor not known better, he would have guessed that they were nothing more than lovers, fitting together perfectly, just as destiny had intended.

Hating to ruin this moment for his little brother, the muscular blonde walked over to the bed to grab Violet, trying to pretend that it was not Loki on top of her. Thor froze as his brother began to stir from the artificial slumber that he himself had self-imposed, and curious to see what had caused the shift, Thor quickly hid, masking his presence, watching his brother. Always hoping for a change of heart, Thor tried his absolute best to give Loki the chance to change for the better.

Gazing upon Violet's fair countenance, frozen dreamily in sleep, Loki ran his hand tremulously down the side of her face, bending gradually closer to her as if he meant to kiss her with all the tenderness and care of a lonesome petal floating gently down a shallow stream. Thor watched the display in apprehension, ready to jump in should Loki go too far, though in his experience and knowledge, his brother never had before stolen a maiden's virtue. Then again, Thor had never seen Loki interact much with the opposite sex, with the exception of the enchantress, Amora - who herself was infatuated with the mighty Thor.

Breathing in her scent, wrapped and intoxicated by the exotic oils and perfumes Violet so cherished, Loki hovered less than inches from her face, lost within her. But the moment ended as she began to show signs of regaining consciousness, such as her small little pinky finger twitching beside her shoulder. Ripping himself away, he backed off of her until he was standing at the edge of the bed.

"Good bye, sweet Violet." Loki turned his back to the bed, facing the door, "I can't be here when you wake, nay, I can't even tarry a moment, lest I lose sight of my goals." Not giving her a second look, Loki continue forward, stopping at the door as he caught sight of his older brother hiding behind a pillar, "Did you enjoy that brother? Was it nice to see me being so weak?"

"It is not weakness to love, but you know that, don't you? Loki, I know you well, well enough to see that you genuinely have come to love her," Thor stood in front of the door, barring his brother's way, "Violet Stark is like family to me, but she has always been like a daughter to you, hasn't she?"

Envy's personification shook his dark head at Pride, "That woman can be no relation of mine for the way I feel about her - It would be a sin amongst sins. She is the air I breath, the fire in my veins, the hope behind my hate. If I had a heart, it would be her, but Loki is no fool! I know too well that happiness and peace of mind were never meant for me. This mortal is young and has yet to understand the innermost workings of a being as complex as myself, but I can foresee the future we would share - It would be joyous, for a time, but I know that before the end, it would destroy her."

Thor didn't believe that for a moment, "And here I thought that my brother might finally be honest!"

Loki had always been renowned for his status as a liar incapable of giving the full truth, but Thor had hoped that maybe his feelings for Violet - if not her influence - would fix that somehow. Then again, maybe she already had changed Loki from the bitter man that he once was, but being afraid of the changes wrought within, he hid it from the world. Yes, that sounded as if it could have been the case, so Thor heartily believed that to be the truth.

Looking away, Loki answered his brother, hints of something untraceable in his words, "You want the truth, brother? Would that make you happy? My whole life has been a lie, even the truth of my conception was a fabrication. Learning of this, I killed my true sire, Laufey, and I tried to kill our father, but he stopped me, banishing me to this miserable little planet! I hated this place, my place, but I ended up caring for a mortal who showed me true kindness for the first time in life, but she died. Alone and angrier than ever before, I traveled the world, where I found Violet, the reincarnation of that woman, and I got it into my head to free her spirit... But I fell in love with her. I, the heartless god of resent, fell in love with a mortal! Can you believe it?"

"You love her?" Thor had been nothing short of stunned to hear those words coming from his brother's mouth. What made it even more amazing was the fact that he was speaking not only of a mortal, but of Violet. Violet was a friend, a student of his, and to hear her spoken of in these terms was more than a little unusual.

"How could I not have, being the perfect creature that she is? I spent a lifetime watching over her, and now that she has grown, I must leave." His voice was small, sorrow prevalent upon his sharp features, "I must hide this accursed stone so that it can never again be used."

"Loki, you don't mean the Soul Gem! You could have killed her!" Thor realized that a green gem was glowing in Loki's hand, and he became furious for the sake of his friend's well being. The Infinity Gems were not things to be used lightly, even by a master magician.

Looking ashamed of himself, he hung his head, voice getting smaller, "I know. That is why I must leave before she wakes up... To fix the wrong that I have done. I have to make sure that this never happens again, so if I hide even one of the Gems, then the rest can't be used in combination."

Fixing his brother with a piercing stare which was openly allowed, Thor decided to trust him, if only for the sake of his friend, so he stepped aside, "Will you return? Violet will miss you. I will miss you, brother."

He passed his brother, stopping in the middle of the hall, "Loki Laufeyson goes where he pleases and does his whim. None may know when to expect me, or even if they shall. This matter will take time... I don't know if I shall ever look upon her face again."

Nodding in understanding at the other god, knowing that he would try to see her again, Thor went to Violet's side as she began to stir. Loki had made no promise to see either of them again, but somewhere in his heart, he knew that his little brother would find his way back home. A woman was more than enough of a reason, as he was well aware of after a complex tango with various members of the opposite sex.

Warm light falling upon on her lids, Violet blinked as she slowly came to. Looking around eagerly for Loki, her face fell when she instead beheld Thor. Where had he gone? Why had he just left? And why was she free, still herself? Had Loki given up trying to find that particular part of her soul? Or had he a change of heart? Siting up, she acknowledged Thor with a brief nod before getting to her feet.

"Thor?" She asked, surprised to see the wrong Asgardian, "Where' Loki?"

He smiled kindly, blue eyes the color of the ocean, picking her up off of the bed before she could stand up herself, intending to carry her in his arms, "Ah, Violet, you're well I see. Tony will be relieved to see it, and the others will be glad." Sighing at the cross look on her face he answered her question lightly, "Who knows?"

Disappointed by Loki's absence, Violet allowed herself to be carried away from the room.

* * *

><p>Aww, poor Violet! Well kiddies, this story is almost at its end... But there is good news! If you liked this story, you should keep your eyes peeled for the sequel!<p> 


	20. A Look Ahead

**A Look Ahead...**

The mission was a sucess, technically, but to everyone involved, it felt like nothing went right... Storming Castle Doom to rescue Violet seemed like a good idea in theory, and though they were able to bring her back to Stark Tower, they were all in low spirits. Loki had vanished without a trace, Doom not only got more than an earful, but he had lost his daughter before even getting the chance to really speak to her, Mystique had been discovered, and both she and Tony had been taken captive. Nothing had gone right...

Natasha, or whatever she was calling herself now, was still unsure about how to apporach her daughter, so she had decided that it would be best if she were to simply vanish from the girl for a while, which she reasoned was to give Violet the time to think things through and sort out her life. Hawkeye had gotten his fight, but it had yet to begin...

Loki had managed to hide the Gem quite easily, and in much less time than he had anticipated, but imagining the hurt and anger that Violet probably felt at everything, he too decided to lay low and give her her space. Thor was the only person to keep her company, and even he was unaware of that fact that Loki had returned. The trickster god was doing what he did best - keeping an eye on things from a vantage point that was right under everyone's nose...

Loki was no hero... But...

* * *

><p>Wow, not even 300 words? I was expecting a bit more than that, but whatever. Well, this is the end, the epiloge, the thing to prepare you all for the sequel. Oh yes, there wil be a squel, though it is still unnamed as of yet. Well, it would be mighty nice of you to tell me what you all thought of this!<p> 


End file.
